Nik Wallenda

Nikolas Wallenda, known simply as Nik Wallenda born January 24, 1979 is an American high wire artist, Acrobat, daredevil and Guinness Book of Records world record-holder. A direct descendant of Karl Wallenda (founder of the The Flying Wallendas), Nik is known for performing death-defying stunts on highwire without a safety net. On October 15, 2008, during a live broadcast of Today (NBC program), Wallenda walked and then bicycled across a suspended highwire 13 and 1/2 stories above the ground off the roof of the Prudential Center in Downtown Newark, New Jersey for a Guinness Book of Records world record for longest and highest bicycle on a highwire.^[1]

Early life

Wallenda, born in Sarasota, Florida, began performing with his family at an early age. As the seventh generation of the Wallenda Family, he first performed at the age of two (dressed as a clown), began walking the wire at age 4 and had his first professional wire performance at 13. In 1998, while 19 years old, he participated in the re-creation of Karl Wallenda's seven-person pyramid on the highwire in Detroit, Michigan by his father Terry and mother Delilah and decided to make a career of it.^[2]

Personal life

In 1999, Wallenda proposed to his future wife Erendira, on bended knee on a wire 30 feet high during a performance in Montreal, Canada before a packed house of 18,000 people.^[3]

Wallenda and his wife own and operate Wallendas Inc., a premier entertainment company that produces thrill shows around the world. They also have three children - Yanni, Amadaos and Evita.

Career

Upon establishing himself as a highwire entertainer, Wallenda continued to perform with his family and eventually convinced them to attempt their next monumental feat. In 2001, he appeared at Japan's Kurashiki Tivoli Park in a family troupe that set the Guinness World Record for an eight-person pyramid on the high wire—a feat practiced intensely for over five months.^[4] He cited his great-grandfather Karl Wallenda as his primary inspiration for the stunt, stating, "It was a landmark experience for our profession, as well as our family and me personally."

In recent years, he has developed many broad scale productions for amusement parks and similar venues all over the world, including water stunts, diving and other daredevil exploits, often featuring him and his wife. They have worked with their respective families on acts including sway poles, the highwire, the wheel of death, incline motorcycles, skywalks, silks, lyra, the cloud swing, motorcycles in a cage, and even a dog act.

In 2007 and 2008, Wallenda was a featured performer on Ringling Bros. Production "Bellobration," performing with Bello Nock on a newly contrived, double version of the Wheel of Steel. The double wheel of steel was invented, designed, and constructed by Wallenda and Nock.^[5]

On July 3, 2009, Nik walked across the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, PA. A total of 1000 feet. On July 26, 2009, he walked across the Sky ride cable at Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio as part of his "Walk Across America" tour of Cedar Fair Entertainment parks. He will be appearing at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, in Allentown, Pennsylvania on August 2; at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia on August 9; at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio on August 15; and at Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina on August 23.^[6]

Future plans

Wallenda intends to honor the memory of his great-grandfather Karl, and walk across the Grand Canyon on high wire in 2009. He has already secured the permits.^[7]

References