Nik Wallenda: Who are the Flying Wallendas?
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This man walked over a volcano - on a tightrope!
American daredevil Nik Wallenda has walked across an active volcano on a tightrope in Nicaragua.
It took him half an hour to cross the boiling lava lake in the Masaya Volcano.
Don't worry though - he was attached to a safety harness the whole way and was wearing breathing equipment to protect him from the gases in the crater.
But he's not the only member of his family who's done some crazy stunts!
The Wallenda family perform together all over the world.
The family have been performing since the 1780s
The Wallendas were a family of acrobats, clowns, jugglers and animal trainers.
They performed in a circus troupe as far back as 1780!
The family would travel around performing in city squares.
By the late 1800s, the family had become particularly famous for their expertise in the flying trapeze
Karl Wallenda Founded the Flying Wallendas in the 1920s
Karl Wallenda founded the Flying Wallendas
When Karl was around 16 years old, he answered an ad in the paper for an "experienced hand balancer with courage."
He met a wire walker and felt inspired to form his own group!
He asked his brother and lady named Helen Kreis to form his very first act - she later became his wife.
The group eventually became a seven-person act, famous for their chair pyramids.
The Flying Wallendas Sixth and Seventh Generations Are Still Performing
Nik Wallenda is the most well-known Wallenda still performing.
He married an aerialist - an artist who performs acrobatics high above the ground on a tightrope or trapeze - and she and their three children still get involved in the family tradition.
But they're not the only Wallendas who perform, other members of the family still do high-flying stunts all over the world.
- Published20 April 2019
- Published11 September 2019
