One of the most interesting teams of The Amazing Race season 25 was Adam Dirks and his wife, Bethany Hamilton. The season aired from September 26 to December 19, 2014. The surfer couple appeared on the show as somewhat of a celebrity couple, with Bethany’s 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board made into a biographical drama film, Soul Surfer (2011).
However, their resilience and Adam’s unwavering support for his wife caught the show’s audience’s attention. Adam was a former youth minister before becoming a substitute teacher. The couple met at church through mutual friends and soon found they had a mutual love for surfing. The couple welcomed their fourth child and first daughter Alaya Dorothy Dirks in June 2023. Reflecting on his time on the show, here are the best moments of Adam Dirks on The Amazing Race.
Pancake Race
On the season’s second leg, Adam and Bethany chose to perform the Pancake Race in the season’s first detour. With the couple in London, England, the Pancake Race was a recreation of the annual Parliamentary Pancake Race. Since the detour involved the two members of each team, Adam and Bethany had to dress like a chef, cook a pancake, then run a lap in 1 minute and 15 seconds, while flipping the pancake to the satisfaction of the judges. Failure to complete any of the stages meant the team had to restart the process of cooking the pancakes. Not only did Adam and Bethany make a perfect pancake on the first try, they completed the lap easily. They were also placed first at the end of the episode leg.
Pony Up
Riding on the first leg win of the previous episode on The Amazing Race season 25, Adam Dirks and Bethany Hamilton came face-to-face with their first real challenge with the Pony Up detour. In the Peats of Scalloway, teams used a tusker (a special peat spade) to cut 50 blocks of peat from a peat bank. Then came the hard part of loading two peats on a Shetland Pony up a hill to a waiting farmer. As much as they tried, Adam and Bethany were placed third at the end of the detour. At the end of the leg, they were placed second.
Tea Time
In episode 5, the teams were in Morocco. Adam and Bethany opted for the Tea Time detour. Finishing in seventh position in the last leg, the couple decided to take time to perfect routines rather than rushing into them. The Tea Time detour saw teams serve Moroccan mint tea properly. One team member had to hold the tea tray with one hand while the other pours into two tea cups at the same time. While the other teams struggled, Adam Dirks and Bethany spent time learning the routine. While Bethany held the tray with one hand, Adam ceremoniously pours into the two cups and is given their next clue after the first attempt. The team finished the fifth leg and placed second.
Painters
On The Amazing Race season 25, episode 7, Adam and Bethany came close to finishing in last place again, but it was later revealed to be a non-elimination leg. Adam and Bethany chose to perform the Painters detour instead of Posers. Their chosen detour meant they had to restore a fresco. This must be done on a high scaffolding, and must be lying on their backs. It was tough for them, but the restoration artist admitted they did a great job in the end. They were placed fifth out of six teams at the end of the leg.
Fast Forward
Unsurprisingly, Adam and Bethany became the only team to use the Fast Forward in The Amazing Race season 25. They used it in the ninth leg in Singapore. The Fast Forward offered was an easy one for the Surfer couples. Adam Dirks and Bethany had to surf on an artificially-generated wave for two minutes. The team won their Fast Forward, placing them in the first position at the end of that leg.
SwitchBack Challenge
To find their next clue, teams had to use a plow attached to a water buffalo to dredge a rice paddy. Even for viewers, it was one of the most disgusting challenges the racers faced during the season. Adam, as always, took charge of the plow to push the water buffalo around. Bethany followed closely to find the unearthed clue. It took a lot of work for Adam and Bethany as they were the third team of four to find their clue.
This
Adam and Bethany arrive first on the episode 11 detour. With not much clue to decide which to choose, they play a game of chance and settle with This. The detour entails the team playing street basketball against a local street team. All they have to do is score 21 points to receive their next clue. Compared to the more challenging detours Adam Dirks and Bethany Hamilton had faced in the season, This was easy.
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