There’s no tiptoeing around it. Nik Wallenda is ambitious and fearless, which, in his profession, means one of two things: success or death.
Wallenda has walked where no man has before. Teetering 1,500 feet over the Little Colorado River this June, 23 million Americans held their breath. Each step was a tiny dagger stabbing into the 1,300-foot tightrope.
The Sarasota-based daredevil was in limbo for a grueling 23 minutes. The desert sun burned a hole in his back. Forty-eight mph winds swirled around his balance.
Suddenly, Wallenda knelt on the cable and saluted his fans. The end was in sight.
He burst forward, sprinting to the other side.
Wallenda hadn’t just finished a highly publicized stunt. He had completed yet another lifelong dream, six years in the making. And he had never given up.
That’s the message Wallenda takes to audiences around the world. And it’s one that Youth Alliance Director Mike Nelson found inspiring.
Wallenda will be one of the celebrity guests at The Youth Alliance’s Jeans and Jacket Gala Nov. 21, at the Strawberry Festival Expo Hall. The performer will join Buccaneers Adam Hayward and William Gholston, two-time Super Bowl champion Anthony “Booger” McFarland and keynote speaker Reggie Dabbs.
The gala benefits The Youth Alliance, an organization that encourages troubled youth to discover their abilities and talents through motivational speaking, family nights and community events.
Nelson said Wallenda’s incredible heroics and positive message aligned with The Youth Alliance’s mission.
“One of the themes of his book is never give up,” Nelson said. “That’s also something we focus on.”
Wallenda might be most known as a seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallendas, the famous family of circus performers. The husband and father of three young children is also an aerialist, an acrobat, a high-wire artist and a self-described daredevil. Other monikers for Wallenda include: reality TV star, eight-time Guinness World Record holder and motivational speaker.
Wallenda has been performing since before he was born. His mother, Delilah, walked the high wire while six months pregnant with the future world-record breaker. Passed down from generations of high-wire artists, Wallenda’s natural talent has always been a factor in his success.
“I’m an entertainer, and I love what I do,” Wallenda said. “I actually don’t think I’m an adrenaline junky, at all. I guess maybe there is some adrenaline, but it’s something I’ve been doing so long, so it’s not new to me.”
But mind over matter is also something that can make or break him.
“It’s a mental game, to be honest,” Wallenda said. “At this point in my life, it’s all mental, when you get up high. I’ve been walking a wire since I was 2 years old. It’s about focus. It’s a totally different me up there; a totally different demeanor takes over. Fear is a choice, and danger is real.”
Wallenda has put himself in very real danger. In 2001, he set his first world record in Kurashiki, Japan, for the four-layer, eight-person pyramid on a high wire. In 2008, he broke the world record for the highest and longest bike ride on a wire in Newark, N.J. In 2012, he became the first person to trek a wire directly over Niagara Falls.
But in 2011, Wallenda triumphantly completed a walk that meant more than records and fame. It was a 135-foot crossing between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The stunt was the same one that Wallenda’s grandfather, Karl, attempted in 1978.
But Karl never finished. He plunged 10 stories to his death.
This year’s Grand Canyon crossing marked Wallenda’s eighth world record.
Wallenda says his mission isn’t just to find new and bolder feats. He also wants to promote a can-do brand of determination, persistence and fortitude. He clearly was born with a certain talent, but he emphasizes that he will outwork anyone, no matter the task. That goes from researching contracts to walking tightropes.
“If you are going to do something, do it to the best of your ability,” Wallenda says. “I believe in working hard. I work my butt off.”
East County Observer Staff Writer Josh Siegel and Business Observer Deputy Managing Editor Mark Gordon contributed to this report.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
JEANS AND JACKET GALA
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21
WHERE: Florida Strawberry Festival Expo Hall, 2301 W. Oak Ave., Plant City
TICKETS: $60 for adults; $25 for children; $480 per table. For advanced sales, visit Tip to Toe, 101 S. Alexander St. Suite 11; mail check to P.O. Box 5017, Plant City, FL 33563; or visit sdc.webconnex.com/jeansandjacketgala
INFO: The Jeans and Jacket Gala benefits The Youth Alliance, a non-profit that encourages troubled youth to discover their abilities and talents through motivational speaking, family nights and community events. Last year, the gala raised about $12,000. In addition to Nik Wallenda, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Anthony “Booger” McFarland, William Gholston and Adam Hayward are scheduled to appear.
WEBSITE: jeansandjacket.org
MIKE STORTER AWARD
The Jeans and Jacket Gala also celebrates the finalists of the Mike Storter Award. The award is given to a community member who has made a difference in the lives of youth.
This year’s recipient is Sherrie Mueller, the college and career counselor for Plant City High School. She has helped guide thousands of youth to reach their personal and academic goals.
Finalists include Stanley Glover, sponsor for Gentlemen’s Quest at Marshall Middle School; Buddy Bennett, president of the Plant City Dolphins Football and Cheerleading organization; and Yvonne Fry, executive producer of youth pop group NRG.