Viners Darius and Cameron Benson open up about 'Amazing Race' elimination

LOS ANGELES -- Vine stars Darius and Cameron Benson say reality TV is -- spoiler alert -- not always as real as it appears. 

The homeschooled brothers, who live in Memphis, Tenn. and Tuscaloosa, Ala. respectively, have a combined fan following of about 3 million people. They're known for videos of crazy stunts such as parkour, unicycling and juggling.

They were among the 11 teams -- made up of all social media stars -- competing this season.

But their book smarts didn't work in their favor in Colombia. During a Road Block, where the competitors had to find their bags at night, Darius got confused about what to do in order to finish the leg. 

Ultimately, the two were eliminated.

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Mashable caught up with the pair on Monday, following the episode revealing their elimination from the race.

Mashable: So now that it's officially over, what was the experience like for you guys as a whole?

Darius: It was really really cool overall. It was the first time I’d been on a TV show and to a different country.

Cameron: For me, the race went by pretty fast. The producer always told us that at first it feels like everything is dragging on forever, but once you get home you are just going to sit on your couch and wonder 'what the heck just happened?' That was pretty much what happened. Once we actually got going on the race, it was adrenaline the whole time. You don’t see time moving as fast as it really is. It's a great experience, but it’s so fast you wish you could have some more time.

What was it like, as brothers, to be on a team in such a high-stress, competitive environment?

Darius: Me and Cam were both homeschooled most of our childhood. We’ve had a lot of experience being around one another. For that, it was pretty much business as usual. But being in such a strange crazy environment, [a] reality TV show ... definitely there's a little wrench thrown in that [relationship].

Did you feel like there was a camaraderie among contestants because you guys all hailed from the digital world?

Darius: We knew if we backstabbed one of these people, it wouldn’t just be making an enemy. It would be making an enemy of a coworker, because it would then become someone you couldn’t work with anymore. It was kind of strange, because you need to be nice.

What went through your minds after elimination?

Darius: We talked all night about everything that happened, the mistakes we made, the confusion. We were like, ‘Is this our fault?’

I had some confusion with the clue. It was just that and a mixture of bad timing. We were basically just analyzing the whole thing after the fact

Cam: Immediately after walking off the mat to our elimination, we went to this restaurant and it was pretty much just shock. You aren’t expecting to be the second team out.

Darius: It was also a a little bit relieving, because you don’t have to deal with the stress and anxiety anymore. You feel free, but you wish you were still in it.

What's it like for you guys watching the show now, months later? Did you feel like you were portrayed well?

But it was hard because the clues are different than what Phil tells you on TV.

Darius: With every reality show, there’s always going to be a discrepancy between what actually happened and what show looked like.

Cam: The story has to look good, and you can’t put everything in the show or else it’ll be some kind of live stream for all of the teams. It would be unwatchable.

Darius: We looked good throughout the episode. I'm satisfied with what the show looks like. It’s just different watching it and having been on it.

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