Nishitha Dutta
‘Tough as Nails’ is a reality show that introduces a genre-bending twist of hosting people from real-life blue-collar jobs. The contestants, who invest their time and energy in performing manual labor, get a chance to do the same, but on reality television. A group of 12 people is selected to complete a set of tasks that test their mental dexterity, physical strength, agility, will power and even life skills. The participants then battle each other out, adopting the “survival of the fittest” philosophy, as one by one, they get eliminated. However, the upside is that nobody leaves the premise of the show.
The evicted contestants can still participate and win exciting prizes. The show’s main motive is to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by the working class, which are undermined by the burden of their jobs every day. Keeping this in mind, the show houses the challenges in real-world job locations, which are sites pertaining to factories and other establishments that recruit mass workers. This poses a bigger question: Where is ‘Tough As Nails’ filmed? Here’s everything we know.
Tough As Nails Filming Locations
‘Tough As Nails’ season 1 was seemingly filmed in late January/early February 2020 over 20 days. The second season was filmed in October-November 2020. The show is primarily shot in and around Los Angeles, with its casting taking place in numerous areas spanning a variety of locations within America. Let’s get into specific details.
Los Angeles, California
Filming for season 1 took place in real-world job locations in and around Los Angeles, including highways and railway lines. Besides being the hub of glamor, the City of Angels is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles geographically lies in a basin in Southern California, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, which is why the show is appropriately filmed there.
One of the episodes in season 2 features the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, a congested area that houses a substantial share of American imports where the contestants perform a water-based task. The Banc of California Stadium, situated at 3939 South Figueroa Street, also appears in the show. The contenders engage in a soccer-based task and compete against each other in the stadium, which is the home of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC. With its opening on April 18, 2018, it stood as the first open-air stadium built in the City of Los Angeles since 1962.
Fillmore, California
The third challenge in the premiere episode of season 1, in which contestants swiftly lay railroad tracks, was filmed at The Fillmore & Western Railway Co. situated at 351 Santa Clara St, Fillmore. It is a small city in Ventura County and is located in the Santa Clara River Valley, just north-west of Los Angeles.
Other locations outside Los Angeles
For the casting process, host Phil Keoghan traveled across America and stopped in places like – Detroit in Michigan, Washington Park (Cincinnati) in Ohio, Chicago in Illinois, St. Louis in Missouri, and Times Square (NYC) in New York.
Read More: Myles V. Polk From Tough as Nails: Everything We Know
