Focus on the fun and the wins will come. That’s the motto of Allard Law alum Jonathon Braun (JD ’15) and his friend and teammate Jesse Harink, who are competing in this season’s The Amazing Race Canada.
So far, Braun and Harink have won the first three legs of the race, netting them $35,000 and trips to Bali, Tokyo and New Zealand. Not since season 2 has a team won the first three legs in a row on The Amazing Race Canada. This is season 11.
Braun has long been a superfan of The Amazing Race Canada, applying to the show numerous times before ever meeting Harink – including during his first year at Allard Law. After meeting at one of Harink’s drag performances and forming a close friendship, the pair decided to team up and apply for the show.
“Getting onto The Amazing Race Canada always felt like an impossible dream,” says Braun. “It was always disappointing getting rejected from the process, but I knew that it was worth putting myself through that disappointment for at least the tiny chance of actually getting on. As they say, anything worth having is worth fighting for.”
On their third try, they were accepted.
I hope queer youth see love and support through any negativity and know that it exists out there for them too, even if they are not feeling it at home or in school.
Many of the 2SLGBTQIA+ role models Braun and Harink grew up with were on reality TV, and both wanted to serve as positive representation for the next generation of queer kids.
“I hope queer youth see love and support through any negativity and know that it exists out there for them too, even if they are not feeling it at home or in school,” says Braun. “I also hope that, in seeing our genuine joy and love and support for one another, they get some hope that this joy exists out there for them too. Getting to that place of joy and authenticity was a journey, but I hope they see that it's a journey worth taking.”
Standing out as a role model isn’t always easy.
“Jesse and I knew that we were going to receive some negativity for simply being who we are on the show, but we made the choice going in to not hide who we are and to be authentic,” says Braun. “We are living out a dream. As a result, very excited and boisterous versions of ourselves are on full display. While there has been some negativity, there's also been so much more love and support.”
“The best way to fight hate is with joy,” Harink adds.
Going into this experience, I knew that I was going to need to respond well under pressure, move forward from setbacks, adapt quickly, pay attention to details and carefully analyze problems. Ten years of experience working in law has helped me develop many of these skills.
Braun and Harink prepared well ahead of time for the race. Braun signed up for dance lessons, which have already served him well – he had to complete a line dance challenge in the first episode. He also worked on his French (in case the race brought them to Quebec), practiced some LSAT-type logic questions and tried “random” activities such as bowling – “just in case.” Harink says he did a bit of extra running, but focused more on shopping for race outfits and thinking about how he could leverage his skills during the race’s many challenges.
When he’s not racing across Canada, Braun works as the Legal Director at the Migrant Workers Centre in Vancouver. “Going into this experience, I knew that I was going to need to respond well under pressure, move forward from setbacks, adapt quickly, pay attention to details and carefully analyze problems,” he says. “Ten years of experience working in law has helped me develop many of these skills.”
As Harink says in episode two, Braun is the “Erin Brockovich of law, but an actual lawyer.”
“I hope that my involvement in the show sheds some light on migrant workers and their rights,” Braun adds.
While Braun and Harink’s final position in The Amazing Race Canada is yet to be determined, for Braun, just being on the show has been a dream come true.
“I love my work and the mission of the Migrant Workers Centre,” says Braun, but for him, and many lawyers, being passionate about your work can also run the risk of “forgetting to be a full person outside of it,” he notes.
“Getting to be a kid again and just focus on having fun and competing hard was such an incredible experience during the race,” Braun says. And while going on reality TV may not be a viable option for most people, he says it’s critical to get outside your comfort zone. “I can't stress enough the benefit of doing something outside of work that excites you, challenges you, and makes you nervous.”
You can watch Jonathon Braun (JD ’15) and Jesse Harink on The Amazing Race Canada.
