Nik Wallenda watches his latest hair-raising highwire walk between two Chicago skyscrapers for the first time with INSIDE EDITION, and reveals the drama you didn’t see.
Nik Wallenda revealed the drama that could have ended in disaster. The helicopter that hovered above him, for instance, turned out to be a real distraction.
During the stunt, he said, “This helicopter sucks.”
Trent asked him, “Was the helicopter distracting to you?"
He replied, ‘Yeah, right there I said it. That helicopter moving around, you want to follow that sound and hearing that move just freaks you out."
Wallenda said he knew there would be lots of people watching from their balconies at the Marina Towers.
Watch More Of Our Interview with Wallenda
Trent said, “What's amazing is all those people on the balconies.”
“Yeah, it was unbelievable the amount of support of Chicago, the city, the people there. It was amazing,” he replied.
But Wallenda said he was concerned the noise level would throw him off during the blindfolded part of his stunt. During the tightrope walk, he asked for silence.
Trent asked, "Do you practice falling?”
"I do. Absolutely. I practice falling and grabbing on for an upward of 20 minutes,” he said.
Wallenda is also reacting to critics who say the life and death stunt was just too dangerous for a televised entertainment special.
He said, "Everybody has their own point of view, but anyone that sees it as ghoulish doesn't have to turn on the TV."
More than six million people tuned in to the live event on the Discovery Channel. It was the highest rated program of the year for the network. But Trent had to make a confession, he was not one of the viewers, but for a good reason.
Trent said, “I have met you a few times, you are a nice guy, I like you. That is the reason I couldn't watch this. Because it is nerve wracking just to think. It is nerve wracking."
Wallenda said, “Everybody tells me it is much harder to watch once they know me."
