104 Facts About Nik Wallenda

Nikolas Wallenda was born on January 24,1979 and is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author.

Nik Wallenda is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net.

Nik Wallenda holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, and is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls.

Nik Wallenda made his professional tightrope walking debut at the age of 13, and he chose high-wire walking as his career in 1998 after joining family members in a seven-person pyramid on the wire.

Nik Wallenda performed with his family at various venues from 2002 to 2005, forming his own troupe in 2005.

Nik Wallenda performed with Bello Nock in 2007 and 2008 in a double version of the Wheel of Steel that he helped invent.

Nik Wallenda nearly doubled the height record in 2010 to 260 feet.

Nik Wallenda set a world record in 2011 by performing on the Wheel of Death atop the 23 story Tropicana Casino and Resort.

On June 10,2011, Nik Wallenda hung from a helicopter 250 feet off the ground using only his toes to hold on.

Nik Wallenda was required to wear a safety harness for the first time in his life.

Nik Wallenda became the first person to high-wire walk across the Grand Canyon on June 23,2013.

Nik Wallenda is married with three children, and considers his Christian faith to be a central aspect of his life.

Nik Wallenda's ancestors were primarily of German descent and have been circus performers since the 1700s; they have been doing balancing acts without nets since Karl Wallenda made the family famous for the feat in the 1920s.

Nik Wallenda is a great-grandson of Karl, whom he calls his role model and his "biggest hero in life".

In 1978, his great-grandfather Karl Nik Wallenda died after falling from a tight rope at age 73 in Puerto Rico.

Nik Wallenda was born in Sarasota, Florida on January 24,1979 to Delilah Nik Wallenda and Terry Troffer.

Nik Wallenda's parents bought him a swing set when he was two.

Nik Wallenda began to play on the wire at age two, walking back and forth while holding his mother's hand.

Nik Wallenda spent most of his youth on the road, living in a mobile home as his parents performed across America.

Nik Wallenda transitioned from being a clown, to juggling, to a dog act.

Nik Wallenda made his professional tightrope walking debut at age 13.

Nik Wallenda briefly considered becoming a doctor, and was accepted into college.

Nik Wallenda has produced a variety of large-scale productions for amusement parks and similar venues in several countries.

Nik Wallenda's shows have incorporated water and diving feats, the Wheel of Death, incline motorcycles, aerial silk and aerial hoop, the globe of death, and tightrope walking.

Nik Wallenda has never had a serious accident, describing the worst injury of his life as a broken toe while playing football.

Nik Wallenda says that the high-wire performance is not a daredevil act or a mere stunt, but rather an athletic feat requiring great physical training.

Nik Wallenda has developed several tricks that he often incorporates into his high-wire routine including stopping to make a phone call, sitting on the wire, and lying down on the wire.

Nik Wallenda is said to be "obsessed" with the technological aspects of his acts, insisting on calculating every detail himself.

Nik Wallenda has called his career "extremely lucrative, more lucrative than I would have ever dreamed of".

In 2001, Nik Wallenda appeared with seven other family members at Japan's Kurashiki Tivoli Park in an attempt at the world's first ever eight-person high-wire pyramid.

Nik Wallenda cited Karl Wallenda as the primary inspiration for the feat, and stated that "it was a landmark experience for our profession, as well as our family and me personally".

From 2002 to 2005, Nik Wallenda performed alongside his wife, children, and other family members at Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro, North Carolina.

One early act featured Nik Wallenda riding a motorcycle across the high-wire 30 feet in the air.

In 2007 and 2008, Nik Wallenda was a featured performer in the Ringling Brothers production Bellobration, performing with Bello Nock on a newly contrived, double version of the Wheel of Steel.

Nik Wallenda's uncle, Timothy Stephenson, who is an engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, suggested that an axle be built of custom-blended, hardened steel alloy to keep it from breaking.

On October 15,2008, Nik Wallenda performed on a live broadcast of Today.

Nik Wallenda then crossed the high-wire on an ordinary bicycle with the tires and handlebars removed.

Nik Wallenda regained control and finished, then jumped onto the roof of Prudential Center and hugged his wife and three children.

In 2009, Nik Wallenda took his high-wire act to ten Cedar Fair amusement parks in what was dubbed as the "Walk Across America Tour".

The tour began with a 350 feet walk at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and ended at Carowinds, where Nik Wallenda twice walked across the North Carolina-South Carolina state line on the high-wire.

Nik Wallenda completed the walk in about 25 minutes as several thousand people watched.

On July 3, Nik Wallenda wire walked 200 feet over the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh as the headline act of the 2009 Three Rivers Regatta.

Nik Wallenda paused several times during the performance to kneel and wave to the crowd.

In total, Nik Wallenda completed 15 high-wire performances at 100 or more feet in the air during 2009.

Nik Wallenda walked both forwards and backwards before completing the 100-foot-long journey.

Later in the day, Nik Wallenda went outside to perform the Wheel of Death off the roof and over the side of the casino's 23rd floor.

On June 4,2011, Nik Wallenda completed a 100-foot-long high-wire crossing between the two towers of the ten-story Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

When Delilah reached the middle of the wire, roughly the spot Karl had fallen, she sat down on the wire and Nik Wallenda stepped over her before the two continued to opposite ends of the wire.

At one point during the performance, Nik Wallenda knelt down on the wire and blew a kiss in honor of his great-grandfather's memory.

On June 10,2011, Nik Wallenda performed while hanging from a helicopter 250 feet above Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.

On February 15,2012, Nik Wallenda received official approval from Ontario's Niagara Parks Commission to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls, a dream he had had since he was a child.

In October 2010, Nik Wallenda was approached by Roger Trevino, the executive vice president of Niagara Falls Redevelopment, at an amusement trade show.

Nik Wallenda further promised to fund all the necessary safety-contingencies and to leave no footprint on the environment.

Nik Wallenda described the legal battle as the biggest challenge of his career and "probably more remarkable" than the walk itself.

On his final performance before heading to Niagara for training, Nik Wallenda walked 82 feet above Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Nik Wallenda called the slip "a wake-up call" for Niagara.

Nik Wallenda had fire trucks spray him with water and brought in a high-powered fan to try to simulate the conditions he would face over Niagara Falls.

Eleven days before the scheduled walk date, Nik Wallenda faced a new challenge.

Nik Wallenda's managers claimed to be on schedule with the US$225,000 the state was charging him.

Nik Wallenda wore a microphone for the event which allowed Troffer to talk with him, while the public listened in, throughout the walk.

Nik Wallenda's chosen path took him 1,800 feet across the widest part of the falls.

Nik Wallenda slowly inched his way across the slippery wire, praying and praising Jesus Christ as he went.

Nik Wallenda did not falter or totter in the slightest during his walk, nor did he stop to do any extra tricks during the walk.

Nik Wallenda got up, pumped his fist, and ran the final few steps.

In so doing, Nik Wallenda became the first person to cross directly over Niagara Falls on a high-wire.

Nik Wallenda set the world record for longest walk over a waterfall.

Nik Wallenda carried his passport on the trip and was required to present it to Canadian border guards waiting for him upon his arrival on the Canadian side of the falls.

ABC required Nik Wallenda to wear a safety harness for the walk.

Nik Wallenda further remarked that the turbulent waters below made it difficult for him to see the wire.

Nik Wallenda couldn't do that because this walk had never been done before.

Nik Wallenda noted that Wallenda's contract was with the state parks commission, not the city itself.

Nik Wallenda noted that Dyster had been against the walk from the beginning and that the city had never tried to bill other entertainers for costs associated with their acts.

Nik Wallenda did say he would ask the state comptroller for second opinion.

Nik Wallenda says that the experience has made him less likely to stage a permanent attraction on the American side of the falls.

Nik Wallenda grabbed a shovel and helped fill in the hole left by apparatus.

Nik Wallenda reiterated that he hopes to develop a lasting presence in Niagara Falls.

Nik Wallenda's feat has been credited with creating a "surge of interest in circus and circus arts across the world".

Later episodes showcased Nik Wallenda hanging from a helicopter by his teeth, preparing for the Wheel of Death in Atlantic City, blowing himself up in a box, and retracing the steps of Karl Nik Wallenda's fatal last act in Puerto Rico.

Nik Wallenda said the decision was "not that surprising" given the limited marketing efforts and multiple name changes.

On June 20,2012, Nik Wallenda rejoined his family in Branson.

Nik Wallenda was greeted by a parade in his honor at the Silver Dollar theme park.

Nik Wallenda believes that the feat marked the first time that a wire walker attempted such a walk on any beach.

Nik Wallenda then spent several months following Wallenda around and asking questions.

On June 23,2013, Nik Wallenda highwire walked across the Little Colorado River Gorge in Navajo territory outside Grand Canyon National Park's borders about 40 miles east of the main tourist facilities.

The event, billed as a "Grand Canyon crossing" and titled Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda, aired live worldwide on the Discovery Channel with a 10-second delay.

Nik Wallenda originally obtained permits to walk across the canyon in 2008, and planned to make the trip as early as 2009.

Shortly after crossing Niagara Falls, Nik Wallenda said he would try to make the Grand Canyon crossing "within a year".

On March 18,2013, Nik Wallenda announced that he had come to terms with The Discovery Channel for television rights.

Nik Wallenda used wind machines to simulate wind gusts up to 91 miles per hour and practiced during the heavy rain of Tropical Storm Andrea.

Nik Wallenda covered a distance of approximately 1,400 feet in 22 minutes, 54 seconds, using a 2-inch-thick wire.

Nik Wallenda carried a 30-foot-long balancing pole weighing 43 pounds.

Nik Wallenda later stopped a second time to break the bounce of the wire that his walking had induced.

Nik Wallenda said that dust had accumulated in his contacts and called the walk unusually stressful.

On March 4,2020, Nik Wallenda successfully walked across the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest stunt in terms of time on the wire.

The couple had decided to add the extra performance the morning before the event, with Nik Wallenda expressing nervousness before his wife took to the wire.

On June 17,2021, Nik Wallenda highwire walked at D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York for a grand opening ceremony of the Health Professions Hub.

However, Nik Wallenda stated that the tether got stuck near the end of the walk and removed the tether to free walk the final steps.

Nik Wallenda's wirewalking "wishlist" includes traversing the Bosphorus continental divide in Turkey and Inca ruins at Machu Picchu.

In 1999, Nik Wallenda proposed to his future wife Erendira, while on a wire 30 feet high during a performance in Montreal, Quebec.

Nik Wallenda walked to the middle of the wire and got down on one knee, proposing to Erendira in front of 25,000 people.

Nik Wallenda credits God for his success, saying that what he does on the high-wire is a gift from God.

Nik Wallenda grew up in "a Bible-believing, God-fearing family" and describes himself as a "born-again Christian".

Nik Wallenda says he tries to live "an upright life" and be a good example.

Nik Wallenda believes that through hard work, one can achieve anything they desire.