Nik Wallenda
American acrobat
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| June 17 2021 | Performed a 320-foot highwire walk at D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York, connecting the Montante Family Library to the new Health Professions Hub Building. The walk was 5 stories high on a 5/8 inch thick wire, initially tethered but Wallenda removed the tether near the end of the walk. The stunt was part of the building's grand opening ceremony, with Wallenda humorously claiming to have found a 'key' to unlock the new building. |
| March 4 2020 | Completed his longest walk on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. |
| 2014 | Spent the summer performing shows at Darien Lake and the Erie County Fair in Western New York, continuing his wirewalking performances. |
| June 23 2013 | Became the first person to high-wire walk across the Grand Canyon, which aired live on the Discovery Channel. |
| June 4 2013 | Nik Wallenda published his memoir 'Balance: A Story of Faith, Family, and Life on the Line', co-written with ghost writer David Ritz. The book chronicles his family history, Christian faith, and circus career, covering his childhood, adolescence, and professional life up to his Niagara Falls crossing. |
| March 18 2013 | Wallenda announced he had secured television rights with The Discovery Channel for the Grand Canyon walk. |
| August 2012 | Wallenda announced he was '98 percent' certain that the Grand Canyon walk would take place in May or June 2013, and sought written confirmation that no safety harness would be required. |
| August 12 2012 | Premiered 'Beyond the Falls: Nik Wallenda and the Wallenda Family Experience' show at the Tropicana Resort, featuring Nik, his wife Erendira, mother Delilah, cousin Blake, and other performers in a variety of circus acts, concluding with a bicycle pyramid on the wire. |
| August 9 2012 | Wallenda performed a unique tightrope walk across the Atlantic City beach from Sovereign Avenue to the Tropicana Resort, facing challenging ocean winds and sandy wire conditions. The public event drew an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 spectators. |
| July 20 2012 | Controversy emerges when Niagara Falls, New York attempts to bill Wallenda an additional $25,000 for police and fireman overtime, which Wallenda disputes. |
| July 2 2012 | The Science Channel put Wallenda's reality show 'Nik Wallenda: Beyond Niagara' on hold after just two episodes, with Wallenda acknowledging the limited marketing efforts contributed to the decision. |
| July 1 2012 | Research from Niagara University revealed that his Niagara Falls walk brought in $3.3 million in revenue, with 52% of out-of-town visitors coming specifically to see his performance. |
| June 20 2012 | Wallenda was greeted by a parade in his honor at the Silver Dollar theme park in Branson after his Niagara Falls tightrope walk, marking his return to his family and normal performances. |
| June 18 2012 | Reality show originally titled 'Danger By Design' premiered on The Science Channel, chronicling Wallenda's high-risk stunts and family dynamics. |
| June 16 2012 | Received the key to the city of Niagara Falls, New York from Mayor Paul A. Dyster, who was previously skeptical of the event. |
| June 15 2012 | Crossed Niagara Falls on a live ABC special, wearing a safety harness for the first time in his life. |
| May 9 2012 | Performed a high-wire walk above Baltimore's Inner Harbor, which included a significant slip that he considered a 'wake-up call' for his upcoming Niagara Falls crossing. |
| September 23 2011 | Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill granting Wallenda a one-time exemption to New York's anti-stunting laws, enabling his Niagara Falls crossing attempt. |
| June 10 2011 | Performed a challenging helicopter hanging stunt in Branson, Missouri, where he hung from a trapeze using progressively more difficult positions - starting with two arms, then one arm, then legs, and finally by his teeth. This performance set his sixth world record and was described by Wallenda as his most difficult feat to date, causing him neck problems for months afterward. |
| June 10 2011 | Hung from a helicopter off the ground using only his toes to hold on. |
| June 4 2011 | Nik Wallenda completed a high-wire crossing between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was a recreation of the fatal walk that killed his great grandfather Karl Wallenda in 1978. During the performance, Wallenda's mother Delilah joined him, starting at opposite ends of the wire. At the midpoint, she sat down on the wire, and Nik stepped over her before they both continued to the opposite ends. Wallenda knelt on the wire and blew a kiss in honor of his great-grandfather's memory, calling it the most emotional moment of his career and a way to achieve closure for his family. |
| April 28 2011 | Nik Wallenda performed two notable acts at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. First, he walked a tightrope inside the casino's shopping center, dropping to his knee and back during the performance, and walking both forwards and backwards. Later, he performed the Wheel of Death off the roof of the 23rd floor, walking inside and atop the wheel, including a blindfolded segment. This performance set a world record for the greatest height of a Wheel of Death act and was the first time such an act was performed off the side of a building. |
| April 28 2011 | Nik Wallenda performed a daring tightrope walk inside the Tropicana Casino and Resort's shopping center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. During the performance, he walked both forwards and backwards, at one point dropping to his knee and then to his back while using a balancing pole. |
| October 2010 | Roger Trevino approached Wallenda at an amusement trade show about walking across Niagara Falls, reigniting his childhood dream. |
| August 30 2010 | Wallenda completed a tightrope walk over the resort's marine habitat filled with barracuda, piranha, and sharks, which was the longest walk of his career. This performance was particularly challenging as it occurred after his father Terry was rushed to the hospital and was the first time he performed without his father's direct assistance. |
| August 30 2010 | Wallenda performed at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, setting a new Guinness World Record for the highest bike ride on a high-wire, nearly doubling his previous 2008 record. |
| February 12 2010 | Wallenda anchored a version of The Flying Wallenda seven-person pyramid at Circus Sarasota, performing from February 12-28. |
| February 4 2010 | Performed a high-wire walk in his hometown of Sarasota from the roof of One Watergate Condominium to the roof of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, lasting 12 minutes and broadcast on national television. |
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