Nik Wallenda

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

ABC required Wallenda to wear a safety harness for the walk. After the decision was made in mid-May, a spokesperson for ABC explained: "We had always made clear from the beginning that significant safety precautions would need to be taken. This is the outcome of that." Wallenda was not happy about the decision, stating "It's disheartening—I wanted to do it without anything." The Niagara Parks Commission indicated it was unaware of such a requirement when they were considering approval. During the walk, Wallenda told his dad that he felt "like a jackass" wearing the harness. Many observers predicted he would remove the harness partway through the walk, but ultimately he did not do so. Before the crossing, Wallenda had promised that he only would remove the harness if it became a hazard during the walk. "When I first found out about it, there was no doubt in my mind I was going to take it off", he later said. "But as [the event] got closer and closer, I realized I had to honor my word. I've always said I'm a man of integrity." He also acknowledged that removing the harness would have created contractual problems with ABC. "The way a TV network works, if something goes wrong, they fire people", he said. "If I would have dropped that tether, four people would have been fired because I'm too selfish to care or because it's all about me." In addition to the harness, Wallenda wore a waterproof track suit and shoes custom made by his mother for the walk. Part moccasin, part ballet shoe, the shoes were designed to get a good grip when wet.

Wallenda was unable to get permission to do the walk in New York City, but, in April 2014, announced he was scouting skyscrapers in Chicago, Illinois for a televised tight walk event for the Discovery Channel. Wallenda said he was very interested in tight walking between the Willis Tower with another nearby skyscraper. On November 2, 2014, Discovery aired the special, entitled Skyscraper Live, and an official mobile game, SkyBalance by Nik Wallenda, was developed by Tapinator, Inc. to coincide with the event. In the special, Wallenda completed two tightrope walks, setting two new Guinness World Records: one for walking the steepest tightrope incline between two buildings (19 degrees) and the other for the highest tightrope walk while blindfolded.

Wallenda credits God for his success, saying that what he does on the high-wire is a gift from God. He grew up in "a Bible-believing, God-fearing family" and describes himself as a "born-again Christian". Faith is "the most important part of my life", he says. According to family friend Michael Mascitto, "When he started doing some of these bigger stunts, he realized that he was developing a platform, or rather God was giving him a platform, to use his abilities for God's glory". Mascitto says Wallenda's faith has been strengthened as his profile grew. "He truly believes it's because God has given him this platform for a reason — to glorify Him ... Him with a capital H."

Wallenda performs without a safety net or harness. "My great-grandfather taught that safety nets offer a false sense of security", he explains. He notes that a safety net is no guarantee – an uncle was killed while performing despite falling into a safety net. However, he says he does not have a "death wish in any way. I plan on living and dying a natural death when I'm old." Asked about fear, he remarked "I would say the only thing I fear is God". He adds that his Christian faith allows him to "know where I'm going to go when I die ... I'm not scared of dying."

As of 2013 Wallenda has a contract with the Discovery Channel for near-exclusive broadcast of his acts. He carries a US$20-million insurance policy. He has called his career "extremely lucrative, more lucrative than I would have ever dreamed of". He plans to retire at age 50.

Project costs were between US$1.2 and $1.3 million, necessitating ABC's financial support (and with it, their demand of a safety harness). "I'd dare say that never in the history of the circus industry has there been one event that costs this much", said Wallenda. The production was a serious financial strain on Wallenda. "It's been a tough situation all around", he said a week before the event, blaming the lingering fight over the safety harness for inhibiting sponsorship deals. When production costs ran over the original estimate of $1 million, he appealed to the public for help using the fundraising website Indiegogo. He eventually met his goal of $50,000. Additionally, Niagara Falls, Ontario, mayor Jim Diodati asked local businesses to chip in, saying he hoped to raise $250,000. Ultimately, he helped generate about $200,000 of support from local business associations. The main causes of the overrun were the need to produce two custom cables – one for the performance and a shorter one for practice – and the need to hire a new helicopter company to set up the cable at the last minute, after the original one discovered they did not hold the necessary licenses. After the event, Wallenda said he had probably lost money on the event; however, he added, it was "clearly worth it" in the long term. With all but one bill accounted for, Wallenda said he lost less than $50,000 on the event. The fundraising, combined with several contractors lowering their bills, helped him get close to budget. "I think people still have the impression that Nik Wallenda is going to walk away from this thing making millions of dollars, but that's not the case", he commented.

On June 4, 2013, Wallenda's memoir, Balance: A Story of Faith, Family, and Life on the Line, was published by FaithWorks. Ghost written by David Ritz, the book details his family history, Christian faith, and his circus career. Ritz got in touch with Wallenda after his Niagara walk to pitch the idea. He then spent several months following Wallenda around and asking questions. Erendira, who has an excellent memory, supplied much of the dialogue.

Reviewer John Law remarked, "Wallenda is really juggling two books with Balance – one about his tireless belief in God's plan, and the stuff readers actually want to know: The hardships, the drama, the thrill of life on a wire." He said the book felt "rushed", likely in an attempt to get it out before Wallenda's crossing of the Grand Canyon, but said it is "worth it for the chapter on the Falls".

On June 23, 2013, 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. Opinions varied on whether the event was truly a walk across the Grand Canyon. The Reuters news agency described the location as simply "the Grand Canyon", while the Associated Press described it as a "gorge near the Grand Canyon." According to the United States Geological Survey, the Grand Canyon geological area includes the Little Colorado River Gorge.

Wallenda originally obtained permits to walk across the canyon in 2008, and planned to make the trip as early as 2009. However, the walk was delayed due to substantial logistical hurdles. When the opportunity to cross Niagara Falls arose, the Grand Canyon walk was put on hold. Shortly after crossing Niagara Falls, Wallenda said he would try to make the Grand Canyon crossing "within a year". In August 2012, he said that he was "98 percent" certain that the walk would take place in May or June 2013 and said he would get "something in writing" that no safety harness would be required for the walk. On March 18, 2013, Wallenda announced that he had come to terms with The Discovery Channel for television rights.

In the long run, Wallenda's goal is to achieve global recognition and celebrity. "I've had a vision for my name since I was very young, that I was going to take it to the top of my industry", he says. His wirewalking "wishlist" includes traversing the Bosphorus continental divide in Turkey and Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. He would like to do an event with the Eiffel Tower and Egypt's pyramids. "There's a lot of expectations on my end", he says, adding that he wants to "[reinvent] the circus". "Whenever we're someplace unique or different", says Erendira, "he's always looking around – 'Oh, I could string a wire from here to there and walk there.'" Wallenda, who spent the summer of 2014 in Western New York with shows at Darien Lake and the Erie County Fair, hopes to develop a longer-term tourist attraction near Niagara Falls honoring stuntmen such as his family.

Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012 on a live ABC special, following a two-year legal battle involving both sides of the Canada–United States border to gain approval. He was required to wear a safety harness for the first time in his life. A reality show aired on the Science Channel which followed his feats. In 2013, he released a memoir entitled Balance. He became the first person to high-wire walk across a Grand Canyon area gorge on June 23, 2013, crossing the Little Colorado River outside Grand Canyon National Park; the feat aired live on Discovery. He followed that up with Skyscraper Live, a live Discovery special that aired on November 2, 2014, in which he completed two tightrope walks and set two new Guinness World Records: one for walking the steepest tightrope incline between two buildings, and the other for the highest tightrope walk while blindfolded.

On February 15, 2012, Nik Wallenda received official approval from Ontario's Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls, a dream he had had since he was a child. The plan called for crossing the Niagara River and its 200-foot (61 m) deep gorge from the American side at Goat Island or at the smaller Luna Island, and making his way across the river to land at the Canadian side near the site of Table Rock. The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls would be behind him and to his right, while the Canadian Falls would be on his immediate left and behind.

On the Canadian side, things went less smoothly. In June 2011, public statements by NPC board members made it clear that they were opposed to Wallenda's plan. After an October meeting with Wallenda, the twelve-person board voted on December 7 to maintain their anti-stunting rules. NPC officials, led by chair Janice Thomson, feared Wallenda's plan could bring back the days when amateur daredevils routinely got themselves injured or killed at the Falls, and also believed it would cheapen the area's natural beauty. "It's sensationalism, and that's not what the falls is supposed to be about", said Thomson. In response, Wallenda funded an economic impact survey conducted by Enigma Research. The results suggested direct revenue potential of $20.5 million for the city, with up to $122 million of "legacy effects" over the next five years. The survey also predicted worldwide viewership of 460 million people. Wallenda further promised to fund all the necessary safety-contingencies and to leave no footprint on the environment. Seeing the economic benefits, Ontario Minister of Tourism Michael Chan convinced the NPC to take a second look. On February 15, 2012, the commission voted unanimously to give Wallenda's plan the go ahead, provided that he paid rigging and commission costs of C$105,000. Wallenda described the legal battle as the biggest challenge of his career and "probably more remarkable" than the walk itself. He attributed the eventual success to divine intervention. "God's hand is involved in every step of my life", he explained. "I believe doors were opened for me that weren't opened for others". Six previous high-profile wire walkers had failed in their attempts to gain approval to walk the Falls since 1971.

The Discovery Channel had Wallenda under contract and negotiated with several of the major television networks for broadcast rights. On May 11, 2012, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Lincoln Square Productions announced they had secured worldwide broadcasting rights for the event. Josh Elliott and Hannah Storm were chosen to host the coverage. In Canada, CTV's coverage of the event, although a direct feed from ABC, invoked simultaneous substitution over ABC network broadcasts in some parts of Canada.

On the day of the walk, June 15, 2012, crowds estimated in the tens of thousands gathered on the American side of the falls. On the Canadian side, the crowd was estimated at 120,000 people. Due to the location, the wire could not use supports and had to be custom made. As a result, the wire was able to sway significantly in the breeze, making the crossing more difficult than it would have otherwise been. It was the first time in Wallenda's career that he performed without guy wire stabilizers. The wire was two inches (five centimeters) in diameter, significantly wider than the 5/8 of an inch wire Wallenda typically uses, and weighed roughly 8.5 tons (7,700 kg). The extra width was necessary to make the cable strong enough to withstand the tension required. Getting it across the Falls was a major technological challenge. On June 12, a helicopter flew a yellow rope across the canyon. The rope was attached to the steel high-wire and a giant winch was used to slowly pull the wire across as the crew slowly increased tension to support the increasing weight. Weighted pendulums were attached every 150 feet (46 m) to keep the wire from twisting.

A reality show, originally titled Danger By Design, following Wallenda and his family premiered on The Science Channel on June 18, 2012. The show's pilot had previously aired in 2010 under the title Life on a Wire, before Discovery decided to hold the show until after the Niagara Falls walk. The pilot episode, which tracked Wallenda's high-wire walk and bicycle ride in The Bahamas, was described as "a sometimes painfully candid look at the creative tensions — and the strong familial bond — between Wallenda and his dad, Terry Troffer, who got so stressed out during preparations for that stunt he wound up in the hospital" by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Later episodes showcased 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 Wallenda's fatal last act in Puerto Rico. The show focused on the science and engineering that go into Wallenda's acts.

On June 20, 2012, Wallenda rejoined his family in Branson. He was greeted by a parade in his honor at the Silver Dollar theme park. For Wallenda, it was back to business as usual. "I never want to get complacent", he said in a press release. "I could get hurt just as easily on a wire here as walking over Niagara Falls."

In 2008, Wallenda set Guinness World Records for longest and highest bicycle ride on a high-wire 250-foot-long (76 m) ride at 135 feet (41 m) above the ground in New Jersey. He nearly doubled the height record in 2010 to 260 feet (79 m). On the same day in 2010, he upped his personal best by tightrope walking over 2,000 feet (610 m) in a single performance. He set a world record in 2011 by performing on the Wheel of Death atop the 23 story Tropicana Casino and Resort. Later that year, he and his mother tightrope walked between the two towers of Condado Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico. The feat was a re-creation of the one that killed Karl Wallenda, Nik's great-grandfather and primary source of inspiration. On June 10, 2011, Wallenda hung from a helicopter 250 feet (76 m) off the ground using only his toes to hold on. Some time after that, he walked on top of a turning Ferris wheel at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, CA.

On April 28, 2011, Wallenda visited the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey for a pair of performances. In the first, he walked a tightrope inside the casino's shopping center. Performing with a 22-foot (6.7 m) balancing pole, 45 feet (14 m) in the air, he dropped to one knee and then onto his back during the performance. He walked both forwards and backwards before completing the 100-foot-long (30 m) journey. Afterwards, Wallenda said he had previously noted the casino's raised ceiling painted with a sky scene and said to himself "I've gotta walk there!"

On June 4, 2011, Wallenda completed a 100-foot-long (30 m) high-wire crossing between the two towers of the ten-story Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 121-foot-high (37 m) performance was a recreation of the act that had killed his great grandfather Karl Wallenda in 1978. For the performance, Wallenda's mother, Delilah (Karl's granddaughter), joined him. The mother and son team started at opposite ends of the wire. When Delilah reached the middle of the wire, roughly the spot Karl had fallen, she sat down on the wire and Nik stepped over her before the two continued to opposite ends of the wire. At one point during the performance, Nik knelt down on the wire and blew a kiss in honor of his great-grandfather's memory.

On June 10, 2011, Wallenda performed while hanging from a helicopter 250 feet (76 m) above Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. First he hung from a trapeze with two arms, then one arm, then his legs, and finally by his teeth. In so doing, Wallenda set his sixth world record. He called it his most difficult feat to date, and remarked that training "was very difficult. It was very painful. I had neck problems for months afterwards".

The approval came after nearly two years of lobbying governments in both the United States and Canada. In October 2010, Wallenda was approached by Roger Trevino, the executive vice president of Niagara Falls Redevelopment, at an amusement trade show. Trevino later recalled: "I went up to Wallenda and said 'Have you ever thought about walking across the falls?' and he said 'ever since I was a little kid', and then he asked about the steps involved." Wallenda later remarked "I believe people are brought into my life for a reason... I take everyone seriously because you just never know [who you are talking to]". Trevino next contacted New York State Senator George Maziarz. After Maziarz met Wallenda, he went to work at drafting a bill granting Wallenda a one-time exemption to the state's anti-stunting laws. Dennis H. Gabryszak co-sponsored the bill, and it passed the State Senate and Assembly nearly unanimously. The bill was signed into law by governor Andrew Cuomo on September 23, 2011.

Research released by Niagara University's Hospitality Training and Research Center on July 1, suggested that Wallenda's walk had brought in $3.3 million of revenue for the city of Niagara Falls, New York. The research indicated that 38,000 people gathered on the American side of the falls to watch the act, 41% of which were from out of town. Among the out-of-town visitors, 52% came specifically to see Wallenda. Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation reported that hotel bookings and related business was up 30% in the two weeks after the walk. Website traffic and sales of multiple attraction passes experienced similar increases. Data released by Smith Travel Research indicated that June hotel occupancy in Niagara Falls, New York, rose from 76.5 percent in 2011 to 81.6 percent in 2012.

On August 30, 2010, Wallenda performed at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas. For the first part of his act, he rode a bicycle along a high-wire 260 feet (79 m) above the ocean. The 100-foot-long (30 m) ride set a new Guinness World Record for highest bike ride on a high-wire, nearly doubling Wallenda's own record from 2008. Following the bike ride, Wallenda tightrope walked 2,000 feet (610 m) over the resort's marine habitat filled with barracuda, piranha, and sharks. It was the longest walk of his career.

In 2009, 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 (110 m) walk at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and ended at Carowinds, where Wallenda twice walked across the North Carolina-South Carolina state line on the high-wire. As part of the tour, he walked at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio from the front gate to the Eiffel Tower on August 15. Traveling 800 feet (240 m) at 262 feet (80 m) above the ground, it was the highest walk of his career at the time. He completed the walk in about 25 minutes as several thousand people watched.

On July 3, Wallenda wire walked 200 feet (61 m) over the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh as the headline act of the 2009 Three Rivers Regatta. He paused several times during the performance to kneel and wave to the crowd. At one point, he had to stop for a few minutes to regain his balance in the strong winds and rain. Although Wallenda's team had ordered an ungreased wire, it was covered in oil when it arrived. To compensate, Wallenda did the walk in his socks rather than in his tightrope shoes. At 1,084 feet (330 m), the 25-minute walk was the longest of his career to that point.

In total, Wallenda completed 15 high-wire performances at 100 or more feet in the air during 2009. In 2010, he performed in his home town of Sarasota for the first time. On February 4, he walked 600 feet (180 m) from the roof of One Watergate Condominium to the roof of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The performance lasted 12 minutes and was aired on national television. From February 12–28, he anchored a version of The Flying Wallenda seven-person pyramid at Circus Sarasota.

On October 15, 2008, Wallenda performed on a live broadcast of Today. The plan was to walk and then bicycle off the roof of the Prudential Center in Downtown Newark, New Jersey, across a suspended high-wire 13 and 1/2 stories (135 feet) above the ground. Starting at 8:30am, he first walked across the 250-foot-long (76 m) cable with a 45-foot (14 m) balancing pole. Halfway through, he sat down on the wire and called the Today show hosts. "Where are you?" he asked, joking that he was expecting to carry one of the show's hosts across the wire on his shoulder. Sitting down on the wire is easy, he said, it is getting back up that is tricky. A few steps before completing the walk, Wallenda stopped and waved to the crowd. When he resumed, he wobbled and had to bend his knees to regain balance. "I actually slipped", he said later. "I lost focus there for a moment" because of some unexpected tape on the wire. He completed the walk in about five minutes.

In 2007 and 2008, 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. At the beginning of the act, Wallenda and Nock stood balanced atop twin circles 39 feet in the air. To the audience, the circles appeared to be connected until the act started with a burst of fireworks. The wheels then split, sending the performers in opposite directions without safety nets or harnesses. To stay on the device, the duo had to move in unison, running at up to 20 miles an hour. Vibrations were transferred from one wheel to the other, meaning each performer was affected by what the other was doing. At the top of each arc the performers were rendered weightless, while being subjected to several times the force of gravity at the bottom.

It was ABC's highest rated Friday night program since November 2007, and the highest non-sports summertime program on any of the major networks in six years. The program, together with the NBA finals, helped ABC beat their nearest competitor by 36% in total viewers and 88% in the important 18-49 demographic for the week. In Buffalo, New York the show peaked at a 48.5 rating/67 share for the last half-hour, meaning two out of every three TV viewers at the time in that area were watching the event. The rating possibly represented the highest summertime viewership for any program in history there. In Canada, the program averaged 3.9 million viewers, with viewership peaking as the walk ended with 6.8 million watching. The program set a new summertime record for most watched non-sports special. Viewership was highest in Toronto where the production brought in a 20.8 rating/50.4 share, meaning more than half of the city's television were tuned in.

In 2006, McDonald's sponsored a show in Detroit. To promote the restaurant's new coffee, Nik Wallenda and his older sister Lijana did an act where they met in the middle of a high-wire and sat down to have some coffee, after starting on opposite ends. After exchanging several toasts, Nik stood up and stepped over his sister. As the siblings headed back to their platforms, a crane winch malfunctioned, preventing Lijana from exiting the wire. After Nik descended to the ground, a crane was moved to reduce the tension on the wire and he rode a hook up to rescue his sister.

The double Wheel of Steel was invented by Wallenda and Nock. The two had grown up together in Sarasota and had talked about teaming up for years before coming up with the double Wheel concept, drawing up the initial plans on a tablecloth during dinner in 2005. They then spent nine months building the device in Nock's backyard workshop, and a further four months testing it and designing a performance. The greatest challenge was to find a way to split the wheels while they were still spinning. "There were a lot of back-to-the-drawing-board moments", Wallenda later recalled. Ultimately, the problem was solved via a system of piston-like pneumatic cylinders. Wallenda's uncle, Timothy Stephenson, who is an engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), suggested that an axle be built of custom-blended, hardened steel alloy to keep it from breaking. In the end, the device cost more than $100,000 to produce.

From 2002 to 2005, Wallenda performed alongside his wife, children, and other family members at Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro, North Carolina. They also toured the United States as part of various circuses. One early act featured Wallenda riding a motorcycle across the high-wire 30 feet (9.1 m) in the air. In 2005 Wallenda and his wife, Erendira, took their act to Raging Waters in San Dimas, California, while his mother and sister stayed at Wet 'n Wild. Throughout this time period, Wallenda continued to participate in the family's signature seven-person pyramid.

In 2001, 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. After five months of four hours per day, six days a week preparation, the family successfully walked across a 30-foot-high (9.1 m) tightrope in six minutes, setting a Guinness World Record. 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".

In 1999, Wallenda proposed to his future wife Erendira (née Vasquez, from famous Mexican circus family) on a wire 30 feet (9.1 m) high during a performance in Montreal, Quebec. Having just performed a seven-man pyramid act with his family, he stayed on the platform while the family descended. He walked to the middle of the wire and got down on one knee, proposing to Erendira in front of 25,000 people. A week later, they were married. "I don't know if either of us could be married to someone who didn't perform", says Erendira. "I can't see either of us ever being happy sitting behind a desk."

Wallenda is a seventh-generation member of The Flying Wallendas family, and he participated in various circus acts as a child. He made his professional tightrope walking debut at age 13, and he chose high-wire walking as his career in 1998 after joining family members in a seven-person pyramid on the wire. In 2001, he was part of the world's first eight-person high-wire pyramid. He performed with his family at various venues from 2002 to 2005, forming his own troupe in 2005. He performed with Bello Nock in 2007 and 2008 in a double version of the Wheel of Steel that he helped invent. In 2009, he set new personal bests for highest and longest tightrope walks, completing a total of 15 walks above 100 feet (30 m) in the air that year.

Wallenda briefly considered becoming a doctor, and was accepted into college. However, his plans changed in 1998 when he participated in a re-creation of Karl Wallenda's seven-person pyramid on the high-wire in Detroit, alongside his father, mother, and other family members.

Nikolas Wallenda (born January 24, 1979) is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds eleven Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, but was best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. Wallenda walked 1,800 feet on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest walk, on March 4, 2020.

Wallenda was born in Sarasota, Florida on January 24, 1979 to Delilah Wallenda and Terry Troffer. His parents bought him a swing set when he was two. Before Troffer had even finished assembling it, Wallenda climbed up to the crossbar and did a somersault. Around the same time, he began performing with his family in their circus act. His first public performance was at SeaWorld San Diego in 1981. He began to play on the wire at age two, walking back and forth while holding his mother's hand. At age four, he started walking the wire on his own, learning primarily from his father. He would play on his parents' practice wire with his older sister Lijana, two feet off the ground. His parents would throw objects at him as he practiced, and even shot him with a BB gun to train him to deal with distractions. At age six, he first visited Niagara Falls and immediately decided that one day he wanted to walk a tightrope across it. He spent most of his youth on the road, living in a mobile home as his parents performed across America.

Later in the day, Wallenda went outside to perform the Wheel of Death off the roof and over the side of the casino's 23rd floor. In the act, he walked inside the wheel for roughly 10 rotations, then climbed atop it where he walked and jumped rope around it. Part of the act, he performed blindfolded. The performance set a world record for the greatest height at which the Wheel had ever been performed. It was also the first time anyone had performed the act off the side of a building.

Wallenda did not falter or totter in the slightest during his walk, nor did he stop to do any extra tricks during the walk (as he often does). Talking to ABC reporters live, as he entered the final phase of the trip he admitted, "I'm drained ... My hands are going numb. I feel like I'm getting weak." Later he said, "my forearm just started to cramp worse than it ever has been before", attributing it the stress of the day. Near the end, he stopped, got down on one knee, and blew a kiss to the crowd. He got up, pumped his fist, and ran the final few steps. He completed the crossing at 10:41 p.m. EDT, 25 minutes after he started. In so doing, Wallenda became the first person to cross directly over Niagara Falls on a high-wire. In the 1800s, a few tightrope walkers had crossed over the Niagara Gorge down river, but none had ever crossed directly over the Falls. He also set the world record for longest walk over a waterfall. Prior to Wallenda, the last person to cross the river on tightrope was James Hardy in 1896. According to Wallenda, it was the longest unsupported tightrope walk in history. He 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.

Wallenda is a seventh-generation member of The Flying Wallendas family of aerialists. His ancestors were primarily of Austro-Hungarian 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 direct descendant of Karl, whom he calls his role model and his "biggest hero in life". Several members of the family have lost their lives while training or performing. In 1962, the troupe's famous seven-person pyramid collapsed, killing two family members and paralyzing Wallenda's uncle Mario. In 1978, his great-grandfather Karl Wallenda died after falling from a tight rope at age 73 in Puerto Rico.