When Coronado High School graduate Dylan Matter first watched The Amazing Race as an eight-year-old with his grandfather, he never imagined that years later the two would step onto the starting line themselves. Now 19, Dylan and his 73-year-old grandfather—Doug Matter, known affectionately as “Pop”—are racing around the world as part of the newest season of the Emmy-winning reality series.
“The first person who introduced me to The Amazing Race was actually my grandpa. I was around like 8 years old… he took care of me when I was younger. Both my parents work, so he and my grandma would take care of me every day during the week,” Dylan told me. “And some days we’d watch TV. He really got me into The Amazing Race then. It was a show that he really loved. And I was immediately hooked, and we’ve watched ever since.”
The dream of competing together began almost immediately. “I told him at eight. I said, someday we’re gonna apply,” Dylan recalled. “And after a quick Google search, we learned that you have to be 18 to apply. So he said, ‘Hey, in 10 years, if you still want to apply with me and I’m still healthy enough, let’s run it together.’ ”
Dylan grew up in the San Diego area and attended CUSD schools from elementary through high school, where he served as ASB president during his senior year. He also served on the Coronado Unified District school board as a student board member, representing all four schools: Village, Strand, CMS, and CHS.
The lifelong goal to compete on The Amazing Race became a reality shortly after Dylan’s 18th birthday. “So actually on my 18th birthday, me and my grandpa went skydiving together, at 18 and 72. And then I would say, maybe a month or so later, we ended up applying,” he explained. “[We] filmed our video in one take, sent it in, and that was enough for us. We were just happy to do it. I was glad that he kept his promise after all that time and that we were close enough still, you know, to apply for something like that together.”
When the call finally came confirming that they had been cast, the moment was beyond surreal. “My grandpa… he always thought it was a long shot; he said, ‘There’s no way they’re gonna cast me.’ He said, ‘I’m 72, you know; they’re gonna be worried about my life experience, my age, and they’re gonna be worried about your age.’ I was 18 at the time. And so we always kind of thought it was a long shot. But I suddenly got that call, and it was through-the-roof excitement. I think we both started tearing up a bit. It was just a surreal moment, something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life.”
While Dylan and his grandfather have always been very close, running the race together strengthened their already tight bond, something Dylan is extremely grateful for. “Our relationship is very close. I think closer than most grandparents and grandsons, and I’m very fortunate for that. And I didn’t think our relationship could get any closer, but I think somehow this grew our bond even more,” he effused. “You know, I love Pop. He’s a hero to me, one of my biggest role models. And to run something like The Amazing Race with him was just an absolute dream. It’s harder than you think it is, more fun, more exhausting, more incredible… Everything we wished it was, and more.”
Despite Pop being the oldest contestant on this season, Dylan said it never felt like a disadvantage. “I never thought of it as a negative in our team. I think what I lacked in life experience, he brought to the table, and maybe what he was missing is some of, like, the younger generation stuff I brought,” he explained. “I think we really complement each other in that way. I never found it as something that was gonna hurt our ability to race. We had a lot of confidence in ourselves.”
The hardest part of the competition, according to Dylan, was maintaining composure during stressful moments. “Honestly, it just [was] keeping my cool in those high-intensity situations… and honestly, Pop was there for me every step of the way. He’s been a firefighter for, I think, 35 years or so; he was a fire captain. And so he knows how to stay calm in those high-pressure situations, which is something that I’m not as good at. So he really kept me grounded through the whole race.”
As the season premiere approaches, Dylan and Pop are holding their secrets close. “We haven’t told anybody anything. That was one of me and Pop’s rules. We’re not going to tell anybody anything. So mostly just [excited] for my friends and family to see, you know, stuff that we did. The Amazing Race is just so unpredictable, so crazy. You’re doing things in places you never thought you’d go, and things you probably never would have done otherwise. And just to see me and Pop on that screen after we wanted to do it for so long together. I think it’s just gonna be great for everyone to watch, and I’m just really excited for it.”
Season 39 of The Amazing Race premieres with a special two-night event on Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1, from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m. on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
VOL. 116, NO. 39 – Sept. 30, 2026