Hometown girl continues to be ‘funstoppable’ on ‘Amazing Race’

Pittsburgh native Becca Droz and her “Amazing Race” partner Floyd Pierce — otherwise known on the CBS reality show as “Team Fun” — are back, and this time, they say they are “funstoppable.”

When Droz, a Community Day School alumna and Pittsburgh Allderdice grad, first competed along with Pierce on season 29 of the show in 2017, they were strangers from disparate backgrounds but who had a common appetite for adventure and an unrelenting optimism that captured the hearts of thousands of fans.

They made it to the 10th leg of the around-the-world competition that season. They got eliminated from the race when Pierce suffered from what appeared to be heat exhaustion while engaged in a taxing physical
challenge in Vietnam.

Now, Droz, a 28-year-old rock-climbing instructor, and Pierce, a 23-year-old financial advisor, are competing in the show’s All-Star Season against fan-favorite teams from past seasons of three CBS reality shows: “The Amazing Race,” “Survivor” and “Big Brother.”

For Droz, who had longed to be on the show since she was a child, the chance to compete again on “The Amazing Race” is the continuation of a dream, and has changed her life in a positive way.

“I had this crazy dream that came true and now I’m questioning what other great dreams in my life I have and what steps I can take to pursue them,” said Droz, speaking from her home in Boulder, Colorado, having just returned from a rock-climbing trip in France. “A big part of that was exploring the world, and I am continuing to be inspired to explore the world in the way I like to, which is adventure and rock climbing for the most part.”

She is also getting a bit of a kick out of her newfound celebrity.

“Floyd and I are recognized a lot, and for sure more directly after the [2017] show was airing,” she said. “It was kind of funny to feel like a celebrity sometimes — especially when I live in a van.”

Droz is a woman without pretense, which may have something to do with her popularity. Yes, she has been living in a van — throughout a Colorado winter — but is looking forward to finally moving into a house this month.

“We for sure have a lot of fans, and the fans who like us, love us,” she said. “It is really fun, and sometimes it’s funny how people express their excitement for Team Fun, which is obviously flattering and really exciting for us.”

Fans often express excitement by creating humorous and supportive art, and posting lots of comments on social media.

“If we respond they are very excited about it,” Droz said, with genuine surprise in her voice; the notoriety clearly has not gone to her head.

“Watching Floyd and me and what we create together inspires me, too, so I get how it inspires others,” she acknowledged. “We do have something special together.”

She and Pierce started off as strangers in season 29, and going into season 31 as good friends is a definite advantage, Droz said.

“There is a huge difference between going into a high-stress, high-stakes race with someone you have never met before, and going into a high-stress, high-stakes race with someone you have done it once with before, and have had a lot of time to process that experience with,” she explained. “We were able to train together, and really talk about strategy.

“One of our biggest downfalls last time was being caught in the stress the race creates, and they do a very good job of creating stressful situations,” she continued. “And so one of our mottoes was ‘dodge the hype,’ don’t get caught up in the hype of it, which is easier said than done.”

Droz still teaches rock climbing in Boulder, and has done work with the group Women’s Wilderness, which provides clinics helping women find strength through climbing. She also recently taught a two-day climbing course in Pittsburgh.

“It was really fun to tap back into the Pittsburgh community and the climbing community there,” she said.

She and Pierce have stayed in touch since the show wrapped up filming last summer. They are launching a “Funstoppables” shirt campaign on Funstoppables.com, selling shirts customized for each episode of this season of the “Amazing Race” that sport “an image and words referring to something from that episode.” A percentage of the proceeds will go to Give Kids the World, a nonprofit that supports families and children
with life-threatening illnesses. pjc

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at
ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.