Niagara Falls high-wire artist finds his balance Print
Written by Leslie Santamaria   
Tuesday, 30 April 2013 01:56 PM America/New_York

BalanceFamed Wallenda performer tells behind-the-scenes stories of spectacular stunts and grounding faith

As high-wire artist Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls in 2012, his continual prayers were broadcast live to millions of television viewers. Unbeknownst to Wallenda, ABC officials kept his microphone on, which allowed listeners to hear the fruit of his faith. In Balance: A Story of Faith, Family, and Life on the Line, written with David Ritz, Wallenda recounts his lifelong journey with Christ, his battles with ego and his experiences as a circus performer.

Wallenda is a seventh-generation descendant of the legendary Great Wallendas. At age 2, he first walked a tightrope in his parents’ backyard. His great grandfather, Karl Wallenda, was an accomplished acrobat and Wallenda’s hero. In 1978, while walking between the towers of Puerto Rico’s Condado Plaza Hotel, Karl fell to his death because of faulty rigging. From then on, Karl starred in Wallenda’s recurring dreams of skywalking.

When Wallenda was 6, his parents were performing in the Shrine Circus in Buffalo when they took him and his sister to Niagara Falls. Wallenda recognized the site as the falls in his dreams in which Karl said, “Walk over the falls.” 

Wallenda worked 10 years as a circus clown with his family and first walked the wire in a show at age 13. His parents required Bible study in his homeschooling, and he accepted Christ as a child. Along the way, he met his wife, Erendira, who is also a performer. 

As an adult, Wallenda has executed numerous spectacular stunts, including breaking his family’s world record by creating an 8-man pyramid and completing a skywalk and bike ride live at 135 feet high from New York City’s Prudential Center to a crane on NBC’s Today show.

Wallenda and his team then endeavored to make the Niagara Falls walk happen. Setbacks with permissions from the U.S. and Canada made the feat look impossible at several points. While waiting for approvals, Wallenda successfully recreated his great-grandfather’s high-wire walk in Puerto Rico—and his mother walked with him.

Finally the Niagara event was approved. Amid wind and rain, Wallenda crossed the falls with millions watching and listening. He writes, “I’m glad the world heard how, in the midst of my most precarious walk, I turned to Jesus to balance my spirit.”

To order Balance, call FaithWords at 800-759-0190.