Michigan Air Force pilot competing on TV show
Best friend joining him on ‘The Amazing Race’
BRIGHTON — Could a Brighton native and his best friend win the “The Amazing Race”?
It’s certainly possible. The show’s newest season began airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount + earlier this month and, two episodes in, they’re still in the race.
Shane Bilek, a graduate of Brighton High School, and teammate Juan Villa — both U.S. Air Force pilots — are this year’s green team. They competed against 12 other duos while traveling the world, racing to obtain clues and complete challenges.
The current season is set in the Americas, beginning in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The winning team takes home $1 million.
The friends told The Daily they met during pilot training. While they live on opposite sides of the country — Bilek lives in Marine City, Michigan, and Villa lives in Spokane, Washington — they see each other a few times a year.
They learned to manage stressful situations in the military.
“We’ve obviously been through trials and tribulations,” Bilek said. “Not only did (the military) mold our friendship, but it molded us as humans.”
“For other teams, they were potentially being put in this extremely stressful situation, which don’t get me wrong, it was. But for Juan and I, it’s not the first time we’d been there.”
Villa said he and Bilek have become as close as blood relatives.
“We kind of hit it off immediately. We share similar personalities (and a deep faith in God),” Villa said. “We were able to rely on each other a lot. We had each other to fall back on.”
When Bilek told Villa showrunners had contacted him to audition, he thought it was a joke. He said it felt “surreal” up until the moment host Phil Keoghan said “go.”
Bilek said the $1 million prize wasn’t their motivation.
“We were doing this for an opportunity, because Juan and I live on the opposite sides of the country. It was an opportunity for Juan and I to be together and do something we love, which is to compete.”
The pair agree they got off to a rocky start in the first episode. Trouble finding a parking space set them behind other teams, but they were able to catch up.
“We’re learning as we’re going,” Bilek said of how they tackled the race.
Episodes air on CBS at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays and hit Paramount + on Thursdays.