How Tyler Oakley Prepped for His Second Season of The Amazing Race

Why did Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl come back on The Amazing Race?

Oakley explained that the duo had such a great time racing around the world the first time around that they had always hoped to come back for another season. So when Oakley and Kuhl got the call from the Amazing Race team gauging their interest in joining season 31, they said they would "drop anything" to come back. However, no one knew what the theme of the season was before filming started.

View this post on Instagram first in line to greet monks in Laos... but how long can that possibly last?? betrayal, panic, & a possible end of #TeamTylerAndKorey - tonight on episode 2 of The Amazing Race at 9pm on CBS! A post shared by tyler oakley (@tyleroakley) on Apr 24, 2019 at 9:22am PDT

"We had heard that maybe they were doing All-Stars, maybe they were doing a Reality Showdown, but we didnt really know....They do a really good job of making sure everythings kept secret, you dont see any other teams while youre checking in and turning in your phone and getting ready for the start of the race," Oakley said. "So then when we all got to the starting line, it was like we were really sizing each other up, right then and there."

And as someone who had grown up watching Survivor and Big Brother, Oakley said seeing the other competitors led to a "pinch me" moment. "I had to keep reminding myself like 'These are the competition you cant get too close,'" he laughed.

How did Tyler prepare for his second season of Amazing Race?

Oakley explained that endurance is a big part of the race:

"Our biggest takeaway from the first time around was that its so much more running than you think. And so my main goal was of course strength training, but also long distance, just being able to run for a long time with a heavy backpack. That was a huge takeaway. You think you know what it takes but it is not just running long distance, but running against teams that...sometimes it comes down to the wire, and its a sprint. So being able to do that with 50 pounds on your back, in whatever type of weather, thats definitely something that we were prepared for for the second time around."

Has being a YouTuber helped Tyler on the show?

So it turns out that having 7.5 million followers is really helpful when you're in a different country and need help with directions.

"I think the biggest advantage my YouTube career gave me while on the Race was that sometimes fans around the world would come up to me and say 'Omg are you Tyler Oakley, I never thought Id see you' and if they wanted a picture I would say 'Of course you can take a picture as long as you know help us figure out where we are going!,' Oakley said.

View this post on Instagram cant believe we paddled our way down a river in vietnam. being on the amazing race is WILD... to take a step back & look at the best experiences it has given us constantly blows me away. who watched last nights episode?? next week... DUBAI!! A post shared by tyler oakley (@tyleroakley) on May 9, 2019 at 9:07am PDT

What have been Tyler's favorite and least favorite challenges on this season so far?

"Least favorite? I never love waiting, I will always want to do a challenge where its just like: Go, put in the hard work, and get it done. And so to have to fish and wait there and sit there for hours! Theres nothing you can do," Oakley said of the "Reel It In" detour. "The locals were telling us to just put the fishing pole down and just sit. So theres no real strategy to make it go quicker except cross your fingers...its out of our hands and I hate that feeling."

Oakley continued, "My favorite challenge was being able to ride an elephant across the river and through a jungle in Laos. I mean that is the epitome of The Amazing Race for me. Something that you woke up this morning and you had no clue you were going to do. And here you are in the middle of it, taking it all in, just something that nobody in the world gets a chance to do and there you are. I really had to take a moment and take it in and appreciate it, it was beautiful and something that I never thought would happen to me."