In 2021, the world held its breath for a moment when this woman appeared in Emirates Airlines’ ad campaign, standing atop the tallest building on Earth.

With unshaken calm, Nicole Smith-Ludvik stood bravely on the 1.5-meter-wide pinnacle at a breathtaking height of 828 meters on the world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, encouraging people to board airplanes and visit Dubai Expo, despite COVID-19 travel restrictions.

A professional skydiving instructor, she is also the first woman to ever summit the Burj Khalifa, joining the list of other male celebrities who have done so.

For the commercial, Nicole dressed in the Emirates uniform and held up several message boards that read, “I’m still here. Wow! I can see Dubai Expo. Finally, here come my friends.”

Filming the commercial was taken to a completely new level, with every single detail meticulously planned. Later, Emirates Airlines shared a behind-the-scenes video, showcasing the complexity of their project.

In the commercial, viewers can see a branded A380 aircraft approaching the Burj Khalifa and flying past Nicole. The epic shot required strict adherence to the highest safety protocols. The aircraft flew around the Burj Khalifa 11 times at a speed of 145 knots, which is considered slow for an A380.

The ad campaign brought Nicole international recognition and earned her an award as one of the top 50 most inspirational women to look for in 2022.

Nicole’s journey of resilience and remarkable achievements isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. At the age of 25, she was suddenly widowed and later survived a car accident that proved fatal for her friend. She sustained a broken neck, back, tailbone, punctured lung, two broken ribs, four pelvic fractures, and two brain injuries.

Doctors prepared her family for the worst. Even if she made it, her parents were told Nicole’s brain injuries could limit her cognitive abilities. After several months of intense recovery, she made it through and promised herself she wouldn’t waste time on anything that didn’t bring her joy.

Today, when she’s not exploring her ‘daredevil-ness’, Nicole inspires others on their life journeys with her own story.

Image credits: White County News