Brotherly bond boosts local Amazing Race competitors

Sacha has a feeling and Sébastien has a plan — together they’ll work it out.

Winnipeg brothers and best friends Sébastien and Sacha Régnier have added “teammates” to their list of achievements as The Amazing Race Canada launches its 12th season with the siblings on board.

The reality series, which kicks off this year on Whistler Mountain in British Columbia, follows 10 pairs of competitors in a global race, vying for a prize of $250,000 and a trip around the world.

Both Sébastien and Sacha grew up playing sports, so they’re natural competitors.

“I grew up playing hockey, learned how to skate when I was two,” Sébastien says.

Before graduating high school, he participated in the Francophone Games (Jeux de la Francophonie Canadienne), which sparked his interest in track and field at the University of Manitoba.

“I ran for six years and was the captain for four,” he says.

Sébastien, 27, always had a need for speed, finding his passion for high-intensity sports. After receiving his bachelor of science degree and entering a master’s physiotherapy program, he decided that school could wait but his longtime dreams could not.

“The same day I got into this program, I called the head coach for Team Canada Skeleton and I was like, ‘How do I get into this?’” Sébastien recalls.

His university sprint coach, Robert Ellchuk, encouraged him to follow this path.

“He had coached two Olympic medallists in skeleton, one from Great Britain and one from Australia. I trusted his judgment when he told me I should try it. Since then, I suppose he hasn’t been wrong,” Sébastien says.

Sébastien is working every day towards the 2030 Winter Olympics. (Coincidentally, Russell-born Amazing Race Canada host Jon Montgomery is a gold medallist in skeleton.)

And when he’s not racing down an icy track at over 130 kilometres per hour, he’s selling houses.

“It’s really handy for me to be able to have a sport that I love and work that really like — and then just getting to see more of Winnipeg,” the realtor says.

Sacha, 25, also spent a lot of his youth dabbling in competitive sports. Like most Winnipeg kids, he grew up playing hockey in the winter and soccer in the summer. He soon followed in his brother’s footsteps and joined track and field.

“Then I did multiple sports — boxing, jiu-jitsu, rugby — a little bit of everything,” Sacha says. “I also did a year of skeleton with Sébastien.”

The brothers spent their teenage days lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons at Rady JCC. While they often had interests that aligned, they were also destined for different paths.

While Sébastien is actively pursuing a career in sports, Sacha is focusing on a different passion: music, which he is persuing professionally.

He also works at his father Normand Régnier’s upholstery store, Chateau Designs, and works as a model during whatever free time he has left.

“I was part of a group of about 30 Manitoba Indigenous models that all went for Japan Fashion Week,” Sacha says.

For years, the Régnier family has spent their evenings watching The Amazing Race; it became a family tradition.

“It’s my mom’s favourite show,” Sébastien says of Monique Constant, who always thought her boys would be a good fit for the show, nudging them to apply for many years.

“They get along and they’re so goofy. I always thought they’d be good entertainment,” she says.

Constant has always noticed the special bond her boys have.

“It started when Sacha was still in my womb,” she says, chuckling. “Sébastien would constantly be talking to Sacha and call him his baby. It just made sense that they did this journey together. They have different skills, but together they have it all.”

It was a no-brainer for these two to team up.

“I really think our differences helped us rather than get in the way. The way we think, the way we do things, 100 per cent made us a competitive team,” Sébastien says.

When it came to applying, the pair didn’t jazz up their application video or pretend to be people they’re not. They simply sat down for three minutes and did what they do best — they goofed around.

“I feel like the video was just exactly how we are — laughing, falling over, hugging. We didn’t do anything extra,” Sébastien says.

In the weeks they spent together during the race, they defied the odds, doing the opposite of what comes naturally to siblings — they stayed calm and listened to each other.

“At the beginning of the race you don’t know what to expect,” Sacha says. “All your plans go out the window and we had to learn pretty quickly within the first couple of legs how we were going to communicate.”

They also found a way to use their education and hobbies to excel.

“Being able to do custom upholstery really helped because there were a lot of building challenges. I was able to pay attention to the smaller details,” Sacha says.

Sébastien found that years of memorizing course information helped with certain challenges; he was also able to pull in elements from his skeleton training during the race.

“The aspect of often being uncomfortable (was familiar). Sometimes going 140 kilometres down headfirst, it’s not a little joyride. So, getting comfortable being uncomfortable,” Sébastien says.

Both of them were able to use their past athletic experiences to stay calm during the stressful parts of the competition.

“We’ve both been in sports enough to know when there’s a lot going on, the best thing you can do is take a step back and slow down,” Sacha adds.

Although it didn’t seem possible, they came out of this race closer than they’ve ever been.

“We always had a close bond, but I think after this race we realized how special it is. We’re going to remember these moments forever. What I take away from this is just how grateful I am for Sébastien to be my older brother,” Sacha says.

And while these brothers made sure to have fun during this experience and make friends, the end goal was still always clear: to win.

“It is difficult because you’re friends with all these people. You’re on the same boat and it’s an amazing experience, but you do not want to be in last place,” Sacha says.

There’s no doubt that while many may envy the relationship these two have, Winnipeg will be cheering them on every step of the way.

“It’s really special to represent Winnipeg, the province, francophone and Red River Métis,” Sébastien says. “People from Winnipeg are so good at supporting their own.”

“It can be a very emotional race. It’s a race where people showcase their stories and everybody is there for a different purpose,” Sacha says. “It was just such a beautiful experience.”

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