bp employee competes in ‘The Amazing Race’ reality show
Hung Nguyen, the director of Upstream Digital’s Center of Expertise, will appear with her husband, Chee Lee, on the 32nd season of the CBS adventure game show “The Amazing Race” starting 14 October.
The show involves teams of two racing to destinations around the world and picking up clues that lead them to their next challenge while trying to avoid elimination.
Hung, who is Houston-based and has three children, has been a big fan of the show since it debuted in 2001 and had long talked about applying to be a contestant.
“During one of our newborn’s colicky nighttime rages, we decided it’s never going to be a ‘good’ time to do it,” she said. “So we just made a video and submitted it.”
Hung and Chee applied at least four times before landing an interview, followed by a week-long audition and a final callback to compete on the show in 2018. They sold themselves by talking up their complimentary personalities and characteristics.
“We’re opposites on all fronts,” Hung said. “He’s tall, I’m short. He’s super laid back, I’m more competitive. So the video was how we’re opposites and how that’s funny.”
In preparing for the show, Hung trained rigorously with running and weightlifting and taught herself to swim – a requirement for the contest – by watching YouTube videos.
Hung and Chee can’t reveal how far they reached in the competition, but the first leg of the adventure took them to Trinidad and Tobago, a country where bp operates.
Hung said she came away from the experience with many lessons.
“I learned that the beauty of the human spirit is real and universal,” she said. “No matter where people live or what they do or don’t have, people everywhere are kind, creative, and resilient. The experience inspired me to live in the moment - to aspire towards a more joyful, bold, and purposeful life.”