New JeanRichard ambassador Nik Wallenda discusses his wire walk training methods, his need to concentrate and his new watch, the JeanRichard Terrascope.
Born in Sarasota to the Flying Wallenda family of wire walkers, Nik Wallenda this year joined another family: JeanRichard brand ambassadors. His June 23rd walk on a two-inch-thick cable 1,500 feet over the Little Colorado River Gorge in the Grand Canyon took just more than twenty-two minutes and garnered a massive global viewing audience. International Watch spoke with Wallenda just weeks prior to his Canyon walk.
iW: How do you prepare for your next walk?
NW: I’ve prepared really my whole life and I’ve been walking on wire since the age of two. At age fourteen I was walking professionally. My family dates back to the 1780s, seven generations. For this walk, I try to be on a wire three to four hours a day, five days a week. For the canyon walk I’ll train on a cable that is the same length as the canyon cable but low to the ground, and we’ll simulate the worse wind speeds, different wind directions and drafts using airboats.
Airboats?
We park them and then build ramps to direct the wind. I was filming a series for the Discovery channel and they asked how they could simulate the wind. My dad reminded them that there are air boats everywhere in Florida. We anchor them to the ground and they already have baffles on them.
Do you think about the time while preparing?
Absolutely. First of all I’m an entertainer, and I believe when it is show time it really is show time. I’ll be wearing my JeanRichard watch leading up to the walk and while on the walk. I’ll be checking it every five minutes beforehand. It’s extremely important. I’ve planned out the walk, and it will take about 25-30 minutes to walk. (Note: Wallenda’s estimate was only off by a few minutes. His actual walking time was 22 minutes.)
Now I don’t know that I’ll be checking my watch [while on the wire], but the time will be on my mind. I have not been a huge watch collector but I’m getting more excited about it.
My great grandfather Karl Wallenda said life is on the wire and the rest is just waiting. And it’s so true of our family. Seven generations is a long time and if you’ve had a company for that long you get good at it, and if you’ve endured all the challenges, you’re doing something right.
How many walks do you do?
Usually the big events take place about every two years. We’re teaming up with Discovery and were teaming to do a full series, and I’ve signed to do one more this year. I’ve been invited to do the Major League All-Star game this year, and we’ll see if we can work out the details in time. (Note: That walk did not occur.) Also this year I walked in Atlantic City, and 250,000 people were there.
Where do you still want to walk?
There are many, many places worldwide I’d love to cross, like the Eiffel Tower, the pyramids in Egypt, the Bosphorus in Turkey. In the U.S. I’d like to walk in Vegas and in New York City. Every major city in the U.S. has a place I’d like to cross, and when we toured with Ringling Brothers we did eighty cities in two years. When we were with them I’d look outside the tent and go, “whoa, I’d like to walk that.” I did a few world records during that time, however, like in Newark, New Jersey, on the Prudential Center, where I broke a world record.
When I look for a location, I think of it as my partner because that scenery is so important to me. That’s how I pick a walk. I always try to pick a spot that will showcase the city. For the canyon walk I’ll have four cameras on me where online you can watch.
How many in your family walk?
There are fifteen of us who perform, including my wife, my sister and even my mother, who still performs with us occasionally.
They specialize in smaller show productions. I’m the bad boy, I guess, because I like these big productions. There’s no harm in being the member of the family who wants go film the blockbuster. I love the attention and the media.
Can ordinary people do this?
Yes. My philosophy in life is never give up. If you set your mind to something, there is nothing you can’t do. Your mental state is important. A positive attitude is important. The mind is powerful, and I have to control every thought that comes into my mind coming up to a walk because it’s so easy for these “it’s too windy” or “look how high you are” thoughts that, if I allow them to come into my brain and don’t filter them out, will overcome me and talk me out of doing it.
Positive attitude is important in every aspect of life. So many people give up on dreams because someone in their life says, “why would you want to do that because think of these ten negative reasons why not.” Or people do it to themselves. We talk ourselves out of fulfilling our dreams.
How long would it take for you to teach someone to walk on a wire?
It depends on their background. A lot of surfers are good at it, but the average person, if they set their mind to it, about a month. I could have them walking on a wire, but not up high. That’s one thing that is interesting: I’ve taught people that do very well on a wire down low, but raise it thirty feet and they won’t even walk. They won’t even step on that cable. And if they do, they are shaking so bad that they say they will never do it again. A lot of people are like that. It proves how mental the process is.
