{"id":284178,"date":"2026-07-01T22:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T22:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/284178\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T22:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T22:00:21","slug":"who-are-skyscraper-climbers-angela-nikolau-and-ivan-beerkus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/284178\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are skyscraper climbers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daredevils Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climbed the Empire State Building<\/a> Wednesday and unfurled a banner calling for peace and love.<\/p>\n

Nikolau, 33, posted live footage of herself wandering around the skyscraper\u2019s antenna while looking down at the crowds gathered 1,450-feet below. She and her 32-year-old fiance are no strangers to dangerous stunts.<\/p>\n

The Russian couple starred in the 2024 Netflix documentary \u201cSkywalkers: A Love Story<\/a>,\u201d which featured the pair talking about their relationship before scaling the 118-story Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The pair has also summited China\u2019s Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper, which Nikolau and Beerkus ascended a decade ago at the start of their courtship.<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)(L-R) Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau attend Netflix’s Skywalkers: A Love Story Tribeca Film Festival Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on June 12, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez\/Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,\u201d the banner they displayed from the top of the Empire State Building around noon.<\/p>\n

The climbers were arrested<\/a> following their latest achievement, but a different kind of cuffing also took place: Nikolau<\/a> showed off an diamond engagement ring<\/a> on Instagram Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The pair also posted photos of Beerkus dropping to one knee<\/a> and popping the question from atop Manhattan\u2019s most iconic building.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how and where they\u2019ll spend their honeymoon.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo people are pictured on top spire of the Empire State Building Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in New York City. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Nikolau and Beerkus started climbing together in 2016. They live in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this agreement between ourselves that whenever we do something together and one of us is losing motivation, the other one has to push him forward,\u201d Nikolau told NBC\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d in a 2024 interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s not climbing buildings, Beerkus is pursuing a career in music. He regarded climbing rooftops as a personal conquest before teaming up with Nikolau. He now sees climbing as an \u201cart form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year he posted Instagram video showing him DJing<\/a> from on top of a windmill.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe couple who climbed to the top spire on the Empire State Building are driven away from the building after being arrested Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Nikolau is a painter with a background in dance and acrobatics. She said she comes from a family of circus performers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing that passion, that freedom was magical,\u201d she told \u201cToday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikolau frequently posts photos from her adventures with Beerkus online.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur climbs aren\u2019t about spectacle \u2014 they\u2019re a ritual,\u201d she wrote after one New York City climb last year. \u201cA performance where fear becomes part of the art. We don\u2019t go up for the view \u2014 we go up for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)(L-R) Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau attend Netflix’s Skywalkers: A Love Story Tribeca Film Festival Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on June 12, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez\/Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n

She conceded in that post that their climbs aren\u2019t legal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile others follow the rules, we move above the system \u2014 literally,\u201d she added. \u201cBecause it\u2019s up there, at the height, where we remember who we truly are.\u201d<\/p>\n

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