( CNN ) -- Unsteady cables and stronger-than-expected winds added drama , but Nik Wallenda 's high-wire walk above a Florida highway looked like a walk in the park Tuesday . The 600-foot stroll was on a cable strung 180 feet above U.S. Highway 41 along the Sarasota , Florida , bay front . The 34-year-old , who hails from multiple generations of high-flying daredevils , was not wearing a safety tether , and there was no net below to catch him if he fell . `` Props to my great-grandfather Karl Wallenda , because I can almost guarantee you he would have stopped in the middle of this cable and have done a headstand , '' he said near the halfway point . Daredevil completes walk across Niagara Falls . His great-grandfather Karl Wallenda died at 73 , attempting to walk between two buildings in Puerto Rico in 1978 . Last June , Wallenda captured the nation 's attention during his 25-minute agonizing amble above the roaring rapids of Niagara Falls . He carried his passport in his pocket for that historic walk from the United States to Canada , but this one was in his hometown . `` I 'm risking my life on every single one of them , so there 's no difference '' the younger aerialist said as he walked . `` My great-grandfather did many amazing walks around the world . The one that took his life was minuscule in comparison . '' Thousands watched from 180 feet below and television cameras broadcast it live to the world , a stunt intended to promote Wallenda 's performance with his wife and other family members at Circus Sarasota . Since the permit allowed the highway to be closed for just an hour , Wallenda 's crew had just 15 minutes to adjust the stabilizing cables . Wallenda complained at times that it was `` really sloppy . '' `` Holy crap , '' he said . `` Come on guys , it 's horrible . '' Despite the danger , he kept calm and joked with his father : `` Who do I need to spank when I get down ? '' Wallenda took the last step onto the roof of a condo building nine minutes after he took the first one . CNN 's Lateef Mungin contributed to this report .
NEW : Nik Wallenda was not wearing a safety tether , and no net was below him . He fell to his death from the top of The Empire State Building on Friday morning. Thousands watched the 600-foot-long high-wire walk in Sarasota , Florida . He garnered headlines last year by walking across Niagara Falls . Wallenda is the first person in recent history to cross over the actual falls .