Alberta man who beat cancer chosen for American prime time reality show

Airdronian fans of a popular U.S. reality television series will be able to spot one of their own in the show’s upcoming season.

Tough as Nails is back for its fifth season this summer, and for the first time ever, the application process opened to Canadians vying for a spot on the reality TV series.

Airdrie resident Paul Hamilton was selected as one of the competitors on the show and was ready to make his television debut as season five premiered on July 2.

Tough as Nails is an original show from Phil Keoghan, who is also the Emmy Award-winning producer of The Amazing Race.

Hamilton moved to Calgary from Montreal in 1995. He has resided in Airdrie for the past six years and currently works as a maintenance supervisor. Before that, he was a licensed automotive technician.  

The show was created to showcase the skillsets of blue-collar workers and the upcoming season made its way north to film in Hamilton, Ont. According to CBS, Tough as Nails “features essential workers from both the United States and Canada who are ready to test their strength, endurance, life skills, and mental toughness in challenges that take place in real-world scenarios.”

When Hamilton got the call saying he was selected for the show, he wasn’t sure what to expect. He said he was required to go through different tests and processes to make sure he was a good fit before landing a spot as one of the 11 contestants.

“I was nervous, I didn't know what to expect,” Hamilton said, laughing. “They give you all kinds of tests to do so a very professional company and you’ve got to go through different processes.”

Hamilton has been a fan of the show since it first premiered in 2020. Not long after finishing up cancer treatment, he saw a commercial asking Canadians to apply for the show. Recognizing that you only live once, Hamilton decided to throw his name into the ring.

Even though he was nervous about being on the show, Hamilton was committed to giving it his all. He added he trained hard in the lead-up to filming and that he loves taking on a challenge.

“I trained for this,” he said. “This is another way to challenge me and I'm going full force. We'll see what happens after that.”

Hamilton was limited on what he could share about his time on the show before the episodes air, however, he spoke highly of the professionalism of the production team and Keoghan. He added the show pushed him to his limits, both physical and mental.

Mental breakdowns were a regular occurrence on the show for Hamilton due to the stressful situations he was put under. For someone who doesn’t enjoy the feeling of failure, Hamilton was determined to push through the hard experiences set before him.

“Practically every challenge I did have mental breakdowns because it's really tough and gruelling on your body,” Hamilton added. “I'm not the type of person that gives up. When a challenge is put to me, I usually push through, and I don't like failure.”

Looking back at his time on the show, Hamilton said he values the mindset of never giving up. He added that anything can be accomplished with a positive attitude.

Hamilton hopes that viewers of the show feel inspired to achieve their life goals. He said that failure happens, but emphasized the importance of perseverance.

“I took away from it that no matter what's put in front of you, never give up,” he said. “Even if you've failed, don't give up, keep trying and trying and trying. You will eventually conquer it.”