Nik Wallenda's at it again!
The 36-year-old daredevil made history Wednesday morning, setting a world record as he walked along the Orlando Eye, a rotating, 400-foot observation wheel. NBC's Today talked live with Wallenda, a seventh-generation aerialist, as he kept his balance despite windy and slightly wet conditions in Florida.
As Matt Lauer pointed out prior to Wallenda's completion of the dangerous stunt, "Nik is going to set a record if he does this—not break one, because no one has been crazy enough to do this before."
This was a first for Wallenda, too. On Tuesday, he told Today, "This is a very unique walk for me because I've never walked on any observation wheel, let alone one that's moving that I have to keep up with...I've never walked without a balancing pole in public and I've also never had to duck under obstacles as I was walking, so this will be extremely challenging."
Fortunately for Wallenda, there was no rain on Wednesday morning. As he explained, the Orlando Wheel "has a very fine finish on it, almost like a car, and it's very very slippery." So his concern, he explained, was that "as I make my way to the rim, not even getting to the rim, that I could lose my grip and in the end, I could fall to the ground."
It was nerve-wracking to watch, but all went well for Wallenda! After successfully and safely completing the stunt, he told Today, "This is definitely a dream of mine.''
"I'm living out what my family has done for over 200 years," he added. "To be able to fulfill these life-long dreams is an awesome feeling of accomplishment."
Congratulations!
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