Page 4 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Apr 7, 2021

4 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK APRIL 7, 2021
Power line technician Cyril “Zeus” Ontai III blasts into the CBS reality show Tough as Nails, proving he’s got both the name and game to do extraordinary things.
eing named after a deity might seem a bit presumptuous, but local boy Cyril “Zeus” Ontai III more than lives up to the moniker.
His work as a power line technician with Ha- waiian Electric earned him the nickname after the Greek god who wields a thunderbolt, and the ded- ication he shows to his craft and his community landed him a spot on the CBS reality competition show Tough as Nails, which highlights individuals from across the nation who do difficult and often dangerous work.
“I watched season one, and there were no line- men on the show, there was no one representing the trade I’m currently in,” he recalls.
His position as a lineman requires Ontai to work on high-voltage power lines, often when conditions are not ideal.
“When there’s a power outage, we’re the ones who go out and get the power back on,” he says.
That means going up in bucket trucks and climb- ing utility poles in rough weather like heavy rain and high winds.
“It doesn’t matter what it’s like outside, rain or storm, we’re out there,” says Ontai, who’s been a lineman for about nine years now.
So, after seeing an audition call for the second season of Tough as Nails, Ontai applied online and
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PHOTO COURTESY CYRIL ONTAI III