Blake Wallenda , the great- grandson of the original Flying Wallenda , prepares to cross 375 feet over the Buffalo Chip amphitheater , the longest wire walk of his career .
“ Two years ago to the day is when I checked into the hospital ,” he told me . “ I found out I had cancer when I was in Sturgis .” Ives was diagnosed with cancer in his tonsils , lymph nodes , and throat , and doctors gave him a 45 % chance of survival . “ They told me straight up , ‘ You ’ re either gonna walk out here or you ’ re gonna come out of here in a box .’”
Kyle , who had his game face on when his dad was lining up to do his jump , looked much more relaxed while we talked . Even though he was preparing to do his own death- defying feat shortly , he had the laid- back , easy- going demeanor I saw earlier when I caught his Wall of Death show , and it didn ’ t take long to understand the change . Before his father ’ s jump , Kyle had been nervous .
“ But as soon as he jumped the ramp , all my nerves just settled , and I could breathe again . I ’ ve never seen my dad jump anything . That was his first time ever jumping cars or anything like that .”
He said that after his dad got diagnosed with cancer , they decided they would do this event to raise money for cancer awareness .
“ It was something that he really wanted to be a part of . While I ’ ve been out on the road , he ’ s been at home training , and so it was quite a unique surprise .”
Left : Kyle Ives makes his first jump over Blake Wallenda , who laid down on the wire to make sure Ives wouldn ’ t take off his head . Or maybe it was just for a better view of the stunt . Right : For the second jump , Kyle Ives showed off some style with a Kiss Of Death trick over Wallenda . It seemed appropriate from one of the lead performers on the Ives Brothers Wall of Death .
Photo by Paul Dail
Beyond not having jumped cars before , there was another reason for Kyle to be nervous about his dad ’ s jump . Shawn said that as a result of his radiation treatment , he had lost a good bit of both his hearing and his eyesight .
“ Believe it or not ,” he said , “ I was looking down right at the top of the takeoff ramp – looking , looking , looking – and just as I was taking off , I looked up to spot the landing ramp , and the sun was in my eyes . So I looked back down and counted the cars going by below me , and then all of a sudden I saw blue ( of the landing ramp ) and was like , ‘ Fuck yeah , I ’ m here !’”
When it came time for the main event , Wallenda started off from a crane on the edge of the amphitheater . Just before reaching the concrete blocks separating the vendors from the grassy area , he stopped and laid down on the wire with one leg dangling for balance . Kyle did a couple practice runs and then hit the jump , easily clearing Wallenda before landing on the other side .
That apparently wasn ’ t enough of a challenge , so Ives came around and jumped again , this time with the wire- walker sitting up and Ives adding to the thrill by performing a Kiss Of Death jump , kicking his body up and off the bike while holding the handlebar .
The spectators loved the show , and hopefully the money raised will continue to have the same deathdefying results as the spectacle .
Photos by Paul Dail
16 | OCTOBER 2023 | AMERICANRIDER . COM