By Jonathan Riley
Total strangers are coming up to Alayne Martell and Stanton Seamone on the street.
“Are you the guys in that Amazing Race thingy?”
They haven’t even earned an audition for the show yet, but people have seen their silly, salty faces all over Facebook.
Seamone is from Freeport, Digby County, and Martell lived there for 10 years.
“Until I got voted off the Island,” she joked.
Martell used to be married to Seamone’s wife’s brother, but now lives in L’Ardoise on Cape Breton Island.
The unlikely duo is teaming up in an attempt to earn a live audition with Amazing Race Canada in March.
To get there, Team Stanton and Alayne have to produce an audition video by the end of February. They have also been building a big Facebook fan base.
“It has been just crazy,” said Martell. “Not only have we been getting a lot of ‘likes’ but people are active on the site, engaging with us. It’s been epic.”
Martell launched the Facebook page Feb. 1; in 12 hours, they had 500 likes.
“I kinda promised people that Stanton would do cartwheels down Crocker’s Hill (in Freeport) when we reached 500,” said Martell. “Without even telling him.”
Seamone did the cartwheels and they posted the video on Facebook to prove it. The duo plans to use the footage of their various stunts in their audition video.
Towards the end of the first 24 hours on Faceboook, as they approached 1,000 likes, Martell asked her social network fans what they would like to see her do for a stunt.
Suggestions ranged from waterskiing behind a fishing boat to jumping in a tub of lobster bait to doing a Polar Bear dip.
Feb. 3, with snow on the ground and in the air and winds of 20 km/h out of the east, Martell jumped into the Atlantic Ocean at Grand Greve Beach near St. Peter’s. The air temperature was -2 C and the water was -5 C.
By Feb. 7, the pair had hit 2,000 likes and promised a combined stunt. Martell raced 600 km from Cape Breton to Long Island ahead of a storm so the team could go for a walk on the shore in the middle of the nor’easter wearing t-shirts and shorts.
Sure, we’re excited about a chance to make it onto the show, but we are also stoked we could cause all this excitement in these two little Nova Scotian fishing villages. - Alayne Martell
Martell said she started the Facebook page with two goals in mind. One was to show the producers of Amazing Race that Team Stanton and Alayne have a great deal of community support behind them.
The other is to bring their supporters together and let them be a part of the journey.
“Freeport and L’Ardoise have shown us phenomenal support,” said Martell. “Sure, we’re excited about a chance to make it onto the show, but we are also stoked we could cause all this excitement in these two little Nova Scotian fishing villages.”
As of Feb. 14 Team Stanton and Alayne had 2,600 likes and counting. Check their Facebook page for the latest on their wacky stunts.
