After being the first to arrive on the mat, Zev Glassenberg and Justin Kanew suffered a devastating blow when they realized they had lost one of their passports and were being eliminated from “The Amazing Race.”

 “What do you think it was like?” quipped Zev over the phone, in response to a question about how it felt. “It was an awful feeling to go from the highest of the highest to pretty much the lowest of the lows, knowing that our race had ended like that after we had run such a great leg that day.”  

 The two friends from California had indeed run a great race through Phnom Penh, Cambodia with nothing but luck on their side after making it on a sold out flight and finding a cab driver that willingly drove them around for the entire leg. 

 But all their triumphs soon turned into sorrow when they weren’t able to locate Zev’s passport and faced elimination.

 “It just felt like somebody was playing a practical joke on us,” says Justin. “We kept waiting for the passport to show up in someone’s hand so yeah, it was brutal. It was one of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with.”

 When they later headed over to the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia to apply for a replacement, they discovered the passport has already been turned in.
 “They had found it in this temple that was right next to where the monkey challenge was,” says Justin.

 He explained that he and Zev had misread the clue for the Roadblock challenge and incorrectly headed into a monastery that was in complete darkness.

 “I pulled the headlight out of our fanny pack and when I pulled the headlight out the passport must’ve come out with it,” continues Justin.

 Watching the episode on TV with their family and friends was a bit nerve-wracking, in particular for Justin. He blamed himself for the entire incident and was worried he had let everyone down.
 But he says they couldn’t have been more supportive.

 “It was good to have everyone around us,” says Justin.  “I think ultimately (the race) was such a good experience (the lost passport) can’t really take away from it, although obviously we wouldn’t have chosen it to go that way.”

 Zev and Justin proved to be a strong team throughout the race and both knew they could’ve been contenders to win the whole thing, if this hadn’t happened.

 But both are quick to say they are proud of how they did, in particular of Zev, who proved having Asperger’s Syndrome doesn’t have to hold you back.

 “I think I proved I can go out of my ordinary daily routine and go off on an adventure and just go out and do it. That’s part of the problem. Most of the time I don’t want to go out and do it,” says Zev.

 The two friends have received an overwhelming response from the Asperger’s community, including from kids who also have the disorder and their parents, who all were inspired by Zev’s accomplishments on the race.

 “We had one woman who actually chose to tell her son he had Asperger’s only because he was so infatuated with Zev and responded so well to him. He was so happy to hear it because things started to make sense for him,” says Justin. “That was a really touching note that we got and we’ve stayed in contact with them.”

 “Words can’t really describe it … I wasn’t really expecting all that but I guess that’s a new thing to take on,” adds Zev. 

 Zev and Justin say their friendship is stronger than ever and they’d love to do another reality show together.

 “Amazing Race All-stars!” says Zev, when asked what particular one they’d like to appear on.

 “You got something (else) in mind?” Justin asks with a laugh. “We’re open to anything, let’s put it that way.”