Philippe Petit: Man on a Wire
In 1971, this French-born high wire gained recognition when he walked across a wire 223 feet off the ground between Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, he was just 21 years old. He topped that just three years later when he walked 1,350 feet above the ground between the two towers of the World Trade Center. Since these insane feats, he has continued with wire walks around the world and was featured in both an Academy Award-winning documentary, Man on Wire, and a fictionalized account, The Walk.
Alain Robert: The ‘French Spiderman’
Before 1994 Alain Robert already had a name as the world’s most daring solo mountain climbers (as in no equipment, just hands.) But then gave himself a whole new challenge: skyscrapers. In 1994, he scaled up the iconic Empire State Building, by just lodging nothing but his fingers and toes in the crevasses between windows. He has since climbed over 70 skyscrapers, typically in his signature Spiderman styled suit.
The Human Fly: Strapped to a Jet
Hidden underneath a rhinestone-studded red and silver jumpsuit, the Human Fly became known for strapping himself to a jet as it sped 300 miles per hour. He also attempting breaking Evel Knievel’s record by riding and jumping over 27 busses. Unfortunately, he crashed upon landing, never to be seen again.
Natalia Molchanova: Greatest Freediver
Before disappearing off the coast of Spain in 2015, Russian freediver Natalia Molchanova held 41 world records in diving. This sport is super dangerous and a dive gone wrong can leave a person fighting for oxygen, while suffering from toxic levels of lactic acid one the bloodstream. Unfortunately, this is supposedly what happened to Molchanova. The iconic diver took up the sport at age 40. Her superhuman abilities took her deeper and deeper, eventually surpassing 331 feet with nothing but a fin.