Tough As Nails

Every day, millions

of hardworking Americans

roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty

to make an honest day's living.

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

The people who really keep this country running.

Welcome to Tough As Nails...

A competition about America's toughest workers,

who wear the calluses on their hands as a badge of honor.

Sweating on factory floors instead of gym floors,

and wearing work boots instead of workout shoes.

I traveled into the heartland of America,

a coast-to-coast tour

to find people who are tough

from their everyday lives.

Nice to see you this morning.

Good morning, St. Louis!

Good morning, New York City.

A chance to redefine what it means to be tough...

Has anybody ever told you you look like Santa Claus?

Yes, sir, I play Santa every year.

At work, I'm one of, like, two percent females.

It doesn't scare me to compete against males.

...and prove that America's toughest come

in all shapes and sizes.

- I'm a welder. - I'm an electrician.

- Factory maintenance worker. - Cement mason.

-A lineman. -A roofer. -Pipe welder.

Then I take on my second job, which is being a mom full-time.

- Come on! - This is a stress test.

Thousands threw their hat in the ring

for the chance of a lifetime...

How tough are you?

- ...facing up to the brutal truth.

I feel pretty confident.

- I'm not the one puking in the bushes.

After an exhaustive search...

...12 contestants made the cut.

I'm doing this for my union, as well as my family.

I'm representing the veterans.

Just because you no longer serve doesn't mean

that you can't still kick ass.

To be the sole breadwinner

is extremely hard.

I do everything for my children.

I definitely want to give back to my parents.

They sacrificed a lot to come to this country.

This is the chance for you to see

what you've all got.

You guys are going to work.

The best of the best in their chosen trade.

Built more brick walls than I can count.

Skilled men and women, who will compete

against each other in a battle of strength...

...endurance...

- Get it, girl, come on! - ...life skills...

We have to fix that wooden post now!

It's not even at all!

...and most importantly...

...mental toughness.

This is a massive mistake.

Those who know how to work smarter...

- That's a smart move. - ...not harder.

Oh!

America's toughest workers

will battle each other at real job sites.

All I want you to do

is find one of these... An alternator.

- Come on, baby! - Come on!

- Push! - Let's go!

Let's get this money!

In the end...

...only one will be crowned Tough As Nails champion

and win $200,000.

-Real people. -Come on! -Let's go!

- We can do it! Let's work! - Real life.

You do not know when to shut your mouth.

Do you feel respected in this group?

No.

Real tough.

61 years old!

This man knows how to work!

Here's to redefining toughness.

This is Tough As Nails!

All right, good to see you guys.

- Hi! - Welcome to sunny California.

- You know why people often come here? Why?

For vacation.

- But you're not here for a vacation. - Oh, no.

- You're all here to do hard work. That's right.

So, listen, there's no doubt that you're all tough.

But we are here to find out who is the toughest of them all.

And so while you are here on Tough As Nails,

you will be competing in an individual competition,

going head-to-head against each other.

Only one of you

will be crowned

the Tough As Nails champion.

And that person will win

- $200,000 and... - Yeah, baby!

And a 2020 Ford

Super Duty truck.

There's one thing I know about

all of you... you're used to working on teams.

- Right, right. - Because you all know what team is.

And teamwork is what makes Tough As Nails different.

Even if you lose your shot at the individual title,

nobody is going home.

Because you will also be competing

in a team competition.

There's lots of cash to be won.

Yeah, we ready, we ready!

So take a good look at the people around you.

Because one day

they could be your most feared competitor.

Lee, you might be going up against Murph,

and you're fighting it out to stay

in that individual competition,

and then the next day,

you guys are working together as teammates.

- Right? - Right, right.

Being in this position to win so much money,

I am definitely putting everything out on the line.

I am raising the bar and going as far

as my body and mind can take me.

So why don't you tell America

what you do for a living?

I'm a drywaller and I, uh,

hang and finish all the Sheetrock inside houses.

My job gave me these.

But my kids gave me this.

I'm a forestry tech and a, and a wildland firefighter

for the U.S. Forest Service.

I'm a third-generation farmer.

My husband's a third-generation farmer.

And I'm a proud Ohio farmer.

I am a deputy sheriff in the jail.

So I work... in corrections.

And, Tara, tell us how you ended up becoming a rod buster.

My husband's an ironworker.

Took him years to talk me into it,

but... it was definitely worth the career change.

I actually spent ten years in dentistry.

And now people say, like,

"A female your size cannot be an ironworker."

But you can't judge any book by its cover here.

I retired from the Marine Corps. I spent

22 years on active duty.

- Thank you for your service, Murph. - Thank you.

Linnett, you're welding, you're putting things together?

I melt metal together.

I make sure that people can use their machinery.

And we keep the world going.

I build scaffolds in the New York area.

I'm the one hanging up in the air,

strapped up to a harness.

Callie, you're out there in the high seas, months at a time.

That's tough out there.

No shower.

Um, yeah, all the seafood.

I'm excited to see what people like Michelle

bring, you know?

She's five-foot-nothing.

And Luis, he looks like he belongs on the cover of GQ.

He looks prettier than he is tough.

But, uh, we'll see.

Lee, how many roofs do you think

you've put on over your lifetime?

- 10,000. - 10,000 roofs?

At least 10,000 roofs.

I'm a firefighter.

I actually bust down all the drywall he builds

and bust up all the roofs that he makes.

-Job security, I love it. -Exactly. -Right.

I'm looking at all the different contestants.

Everyone looks like a silent killer.

I'm a gate agent, ticket agent at Cincinnati Airport.

I lift a lot of bags.

Michelle definitely catches my eye as well.

She has a smile...

it's a little scary to me.

Good things come in small packages!

She's like a little pit bull pretty much.

She is a killer, too.

Why do I keep calling everyone a killer?

First thing you're gonna do is you're gonna pick

two teams of six.

You'll be in those teams all the way to the end.

Once you're in your team, loyalty will be key.

You'll be part of a family

and need to be a good teammate.

Your teammates could help you win thousands of dollars.

Nice!

Cash money!

Now to pick those two teams,

you're gonna be competing in

two challenges that you see behind me.

For the first challenge, you'll be using

that classic builder's tool,

the wheelbarrow.