Who's In The Cast Of Tough As Nails Season 2?

Premiering Feb. 10, summer's #1 new reality series returns for another season of inspiring stories and incredible displays of fortitude. 

Don't miss the season premiere of Tough As Nails on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.

Don't miss the season premiere of Tough As Nails on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.

Tough As Nails, summer's #1 new reality series, returns on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access for another season celebrating everyday Americans who get their hands dirty while working long, hard hours to keep the country running. 

Season 2's cast includes a steelworker, pipe welder, travel nurse, UPS delivery driver, and a retired Air Force colonel who served as a combat aviator for the Navy and Air Force, among others. Phil Keoghan returns as the show's creator, host, and showrunner. 

STREAM: Tough As Nails And Other CBS Reality Hits On CBS All Access

These competitors will participate in challenges that take place at real-world job sites including farms, construction sites, high-rise buildings, fishing boats, and a Pick-A-Part where they will build a drivable car. 

One competitor will be crowned the champion and win the coveted Tough As Nails belt, but anybody that "punches out" of an individual competition still has the opportunity to win additional cash prizes in the team competition that continues throughout the season. 
 
"Tough As Nails is a celebration of the hard-working men and women who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty to do a hard day's work," said Keoghan. "Over the past year, we have a renewed appreciation of the 'essential workforce' that keep the country running and I'm excited for viewers to meet the new crew members because this is a group of amazing folks who are real people in real life who are real tough!" 

Read on to meet the all-new contestants of Tough As Nails Season 2.

Don't miss the season premiere of Tough As Nails on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.
Tara Alverson

Tara Alverson

Job: Mariner
Age: 38
Hometown: Bothell, Washington
Current residence: Endurance, a tug boat in Alaska 

What do you do? 
Work on tugboats, push fuel, gravel, heavy equipment, log rafts.

What is a typical day like for you? 
Work half days, that's 12 hours plus. Sweat, coffee, and making and breaking tow, climbing down into tanks and confined spaces to clean the bilge, whatever it takes to keep the boat floating.

Read Tara's full bio.
Sarah Burkett

Sarah Burkett

Job: Pipe Welder
Age: 41
Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia
Current residence: Petersburg, Virginia

What do you do? 
Mechanical pipe welder.

What is a typical day like for you? 
Layout, blueprints, cut, weld pipe, hang pipe, layout mechanical rooms. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
Being able to get back up and keep going after many setbacks.  

Read Sarah's full bio.
Angel Castillo

Angel Castillo

Job: Construction Foreman
Age: 29 
Hometown: Miami

What do you do? 
Coordinate and manage construction sites that associate themselves with waterproofing and restoration. Project Manager/Foreman/Superintendent. 
 
What is a typical day like for you? 
I head out for work at 4 a.m. and work till 5:30 p.m. Clean the house/cook, go to school/study for GC license/construction management degree, finish side jobs, train clients/power lift, music studio, and figure out ways to visit my son. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
I am the hardest worker in the room. I finish what I start. I hold my hand out for whoever needs it. My consistency and determination towards any task is unique—if I fall, I get back up. Even if I were pinned down, I'd find a way to get back on my feet. Failure isn't an option to me. If you tell me it's impossible, I'll make it possible. I take pride in my line of work. I'm a loving father and I battle it out every day with any obstacles or challenges in life to have my son succeed. I'm a family man. I do everything I can for my team and friends I know in/outside of work. I don't go in for a slice, I grab the whole thing and share it with those I love. I am tough as nails. My hands can prove that.

Read Angel's full bio.
Aracelis

Aracelis "Celi" Garcia

Age: 31
Job: Travel Nurse 
Hometown: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Current residence: Philadelphia

What do you do? 
I'm a nurse. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
On a good day, I wake up at 5 a.m. to meditate and get a workout in. Then start work at 7 a.m., off at 7:30 p.m. Working is nonstop on my feet all day, saving lives, long 12 hour days. After work, I cook and if I'm feeling motivated, I get another workout in. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
Why aren't I? I'm a woman, a nurse, and a diva that's not afraid to get my hands dirty!

Read Celi's full bio.
Michael

Michael "Eyebrows" Guerriero

Job: Bricklayer
Age: 43
Hometown: Queens, New York
Current residence: Staten Island, New York

What do you do? 
I'm a union bricklayer in New York City. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
I wake up at 5 a.m., out of the house by 5:45 a.m., get to work at 6:30 a.m., shift starts at 7 a.m. I'm currently working nine-hour days, six days a week. I get off at 4 p.m., get home at like 5:15 p.m., shower, eat, go to the gym for about 40 minutes. Then, I go home to take care of my son and put him to sleep. Around 10 p.m., I'm sleeping.

What makes you tough as nails? 
I'm tough as nails because my job requires me to be tough mentally and physically. 

Read Michael's full bio.
Patrick

Patrick "Freight Train" Hargan

Job: UPS Delivery Driver 
Age: 49
Hometown: East Greenville, Pennsylvania
Current residence: Flourtown, Pennsylvania

What do you do? 
Deliver packages for UPS. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
I deliver 125-200 delivery stops and pickups and 260-400 packages. I strive for excellent customer service.

What makes you tough as nails? 
I've had nine surgeries on different parts of my body, eight pins still in my body, and a pulmonary embolism which could have killed me, but I am still doing my job and showing the young guys how the job is done right.

Read Patrick's full bio.
Scott Henry

Scott Henry

Job: Construction Superintendent
Age: 40
Hometown: Orem, Utah 
Current residence: Ogden, Utah

What do you do? 
I run jobs in the geotechnical field such as stopping landslides, lifting buildings, building retaining walls, and dam repair. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
Safety meeting with the crew. Make goals for the day. Meet with G.C. to make sure we are all on the same page. Train crew. Order materials. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
My heart! I don't give up on anything. I want to be the best at what I do. I compete at a very intense level. 

Read Scott's full bio.
Iraida Mujica

Iraida Mujica

Job: Transport Track Repair
Age: 43
Hometown: Miramar, Florida

What do you do? 
I am a track repairer who works on full maintenance of the tracks of Miami-Dade Transit. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
At work from 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and complete work orders that are open based on track maintenance. After that I go home, get ready to head out to the gym for about two hours and then go home around 6:30-7 p.m. to attend to my family. I work longer hours on Saturdays and Sundays. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
My endurance, mental toughness, never-give-up attitude, positive personality, hunger, drive, and fearlessness. 

Read Iraida's full bio.
Liz

Liz "Knuckles" Nichols

Job: Cement Mason
Age: 36
Hometown: Waltham, Massachusetts
Current residence: Portland, Oregon

What do you do? 
I pour, finish, and repair concrete. 

What is a typical day like for you? 
I'm usually on a deck pouring by 6 a.m. and in the summer it can be 3 or 4 in the morning. We begin our work rodding the concrete to grade, balancing on rebar the whole time. As the concrete gets harder we skate across it on sliders with different trowels or hand floats. When we leave there's a finished floor or sidewalk, something completely new that didn't exist that morning. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
Being a concrete finisher makes me tough as nails. We work long hours doing backbreaking work. I also consider myself tough as nails for working through my pregnancy. I was rodding and troweling concrete at nine months pregnant.

Read Liz's full bio.
Cyril

Cyril "Zeus" Ontai III

Job: Lineman
Age: 29
Hometown: Honolulu

What do you do? 
I work on high-voltage power lines. I keep the lights on and businesses running. I maintain power lines on utility poles and various types of structures to ensure efficient power to residential and commercial areas. I install and repair cables used in electrical power or distribution systems.

What is a typical day like for you? 
On a typical workday, I usually wake up and get my usual at Starbucks (Venti vanilla sweet cream cold brew). I head to work, kick it with my homies, and stretch. After stretching, I get the job for the day and start prepping materials for the job. Execute the job of the day. A normal work shift for me is 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IF there are no outages. If there are outages, prepare for a long workday! If I finish work on time, my wife and I will do a HIIT workout for about an hour. After working out, the rest of my day goes to my kids!!!! The majority of my time goes to my family, they are my #1 priority!

What makes you tough as nails? 
I'm not afraid to fail. I meet failure head-on. My mental tolerance is high due to past life experiences. I never doubt myself. I am confident in my abilities.

Read Cyril's full bio.
Swifty Sanders

Swifty Sanders

Job: Steelworker 
Age: 43
Hometown: East Chicago, Indiana
Current residence: Merrillville, Indiana

What do you do? 
I am a Steelworker with the USW1011.

What is a typical day like for you? 
All work, no play! 

What makes you tough as nails? 
I never quit.

Read Swifty's full bio.
Merryl Tengesdal

Merryl Tengesdal

Job: Retired Air Force Colonel
Age: 49
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Current residence: Sacramento, California

What do you do? 
I'm a retired Air Force Colonel, veteran, and (Naval/Air Force) aviator. I'm the first and currently only African American woman to fly the U-2 Aircraft. I have over 3,400 flight hours in six different aircraft and over 300 combat hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. I'm currently a fitness trainer at a local sports club.  

What is a typical day like for you? 
Making sure my kids get to and from school and to their other activities in the morning. During the day, I motivate people of all ages through fitness training. I also attend various speaking engagements where I share my life story and strive to inspire young minds and future leaders to greatness. 

What makes you tough as nails? 
I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to accomplish the goal, regardless of what people think or say.  

Read Merryl's full bio.

Don't miss the season premiere of Tough As Nails on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.