Nik Wallenda - Personal Life

Personal Life

In 1999, Wallenda proposed to his future wife Erendira (née Vasquez) on a wire 30 feet (9.1 m) high during a performance in Montreal, Quebec. Having just performed a seven-man pyramid act with his family, he stayed on the platform while the family descended. He walked to the middle of the wire and got down on one knee, proposing to Erendira in front of 25,000 people. A week later, they were married. "I don’t know if either of us could be married to someone who didn’t perform," says Erendira. "I can’t see either of us ever being happy sitting behind a desk."

Wallenda credits God for his success, saying that what he does on the high-wire is a gift from God. He grew up in a "a Bible-believing, God-fearing family" and describes himself as a "born-again Christian". Faith is "the most important part of my life," he says. Before every wire walk, he joins his family in prayer and he always wears a cross as he performs. He remarks, "The Bible says pray without ceasing and I'm always praying." He denies that his stunts "test" God. "To test God would be to never train, never practice, and then to walk across the Grand Canyon; or to jump off a building, or throw myself in front of a truck," he says. Wallenda says he tries to live "an upright life" and be a good example. Despite his success, Wallenda wants people to think of him as just a regular guy. "I want people to like me, just for who I am," he says. "What you get is a regular person. I want people to relate to me."

Wallenda describes himself as a challenge-driven person. "Don't tell me, 'It can't be done,' because I'll find a way to do it", he says. "My whole thing", he says, "is I don't want to just break records. I want to set myself apart from any record that's been done before." Wallenda believes that through hard work, one can achieve anything they desire. "I think what life is about", he remarks. "We all go through challenges. But once we get through them, we look back and say look how much our lives have changed by going through that challenge."

Wallenda and his wife own and operate Wallendas Inc. They have three children: Yanni, aged 15, Amadaos, 12, and Evita, 10. The children are free to choose their own professions, Wallenda says. Evita is said to be the most interested in following in her father's footsteps. "In the back yard we have a wire that's two feet off the ground and that's what's fun for my daughter. Kids want to do what their parents do," Wallenda remarks. Erendira and the children are always nearby; the six days they were separated from Nik while he prepared for Niagara Falls was the longest separation in nine years.