Nik Wallenda Completes Chicago Skywalk Blindfolded, Without Harness; 'I'm Not Crazy,' He Says
High wire artist Nik Wallenda broke two world records Sunday by completing his Chicago skywalk, which included walking a tight rope 65 stories off the ground between the west and east towers of a building blindfolded and without a harness. He said he's not crazy but is made for doing what he did.
About 50,000 people watched as Wallenda completed the two walks in about eight minutes, according to the Chicago Tribune, which also reported that there were last-minute rigging changes and concerns about the wind.
"You guys watching think I'm crazy, but this is what I'm made for," Wallenda was quoted as saying soon after he started the first skywalk.
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The 35-year-old acrobat walked more than two city blocks from the Marina City west tower to the Leo Burnett Building at a 19-degree slant across the Chicago River in 6 minutes and 51 seconds. It was the steepest incline ever for tightrope walking between two buildings.
Wallenda then wore a blindfold and crossed to the east tower at more than 500 feet in 1 minute and 17 seconds, the highest blindfolded walk ever recorded. He had requested the crowd gathered to witness the stunt for silence, and finished it without providing a commentary.
The married father of three has famously crossed the Grand Canyon without a harness. About two years ago, he became the first man in history to walk 1,800 feet on a tightrope across the roaring Niagara Falls from the U.S. to the Canadian side of the falls.
It's not that he doesn't acknowledge the danger. His great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, fell off a wire to his death in 1978.
"Fear is a choice. It's funny, I say this all the time, 'fear is a choice but danger is real,'" he told The Christian Post in a previous interview.
"I think of him [great-grandfather] on every walk I do," he told People magazine. "In order to carry on his legacy, I have to do it in a bigger and broader fashion."
Wallenda, who is the seventh generation of the legendary Great Wallendas and began walking the wire at age 4, went on to say he often talks to God while he is on the wire. "I find that peaceful and relaxing and He's the only one up there listening to me."
The artist believes that with persistence, hard work, a "never give up" attitude "and with the grace of God," you can accomplish anything. However, he also believes in humility.
Speaking about his memoir, Balance, he said: "... I try to remain grounded and that's what a lot of the book's about — me being grounded with my family, with my faith, and not letting my ego take over."
Wallenda also told CP that his faith matters in what he does. "My life is based on my faith. I guess the biggest role that it plays is that if I do fall and die I know where I'm going."
He further shared that he's often asked if he's testing God. But Wallenda stresses he is not. "If I was testing God, I'd walk out in the middle of an interstate in the rain while a car was coming at me at 70 miles an hour and say, 'God, if you're real, the car will stop.' I don't believe God holds me on that wire in any way. I believe that God gave me a very unique ability to walk the wire and it's up to me whether I want to train properly or whether I want to prepare for it."
