Fearless Lunatic Breaks Slackline Record at Mandalay Bay

It makes us a little woozy to even type these words.

Slackline madman Andy Lewis broke a world record for the longest urban highline walk at Mandalay Bay on Oct. 16, 2013. He did it a dizzying 63 floors up, and he made it seem like a stroll in the park.

Bwah.
The mind reels. The stomach churns.

Four lines were strung atop Mandalay Bay, just outside the hotel’s House of Blues Foundation Room. Lewis’ slackline was 360 feet long.

Let’s put it in perspective.

Yes, all the way the hell up there.
Yes, all the way the hell up there.

Andy Lewis is perhaps best known for performing on a slackline during Madonna’s halftime show at the 2012 Super Bowl, with an estimated audience of 114 million people.

At Mandalay Bay, Lewis was joined by three equally insane friends, Gabriel Amaral, Hayden Nickell and Mickey Wilson, each walking their own slackline.

What is the matter with people?
Crazy loves company.

Here’s video of the gathering of fools. Yes, the video is jittery. We were shaking more than the guys actually risking death.




As if walking a line that high up wasn’t freaky enough, the guys stopped frequently to show off and dangle precariously from their safety lines, 480 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.

What is the matter with people?
What is the matter with people?

Slacklines used for “urbanlining” are typically just two inches wide.

Just hanging out while his buddy breaks a world record. No big deal.
Just hanging out while his buddy breaks a world record. No big deal.

Andy Lewis is a superstar in the world of slacklining, or “tricklining,” and has been the overall world champion of competitive tricklining since 2008.

It took Lewis three tries to break the record. Here, he tries a do-over.
It took Lewis three tries to break the record. Here, he takes a do-over.

Slacklining is a relatively new sport, an offshoot of tightrope walking. As the name implies, slacklining differs from tightrope walking in that the line isn’t taut, allowing for more bouncing and other tricks this Las Vegas blog would not attempt even for upwards of a bajillion dollars.

Our palms are stills sweaty, thanks.
Our palms are stills sweaty, thanks.

Useless trivia: The highest slackline ever was 3,281 feet high, walked by Christian Schou in Norway in 2006.

Definitely a traffic-stopper on The Strip.
Definitely a traffic-stopper on The Strip.

The record-breaking stunt accompanied the 2013 World Slackline Federation World Cup Finals, also held at Mandalay Bay.