Russian Daredevil Couple Climb To The Top of Empire State Building for a Dramatic Proposal 

Russian rooftoppers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus (born Ivan Kuznetsov), the daredevil couple featured in Netflix’s 2024 documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, found themselves at the center of another headline this week after illegally climbing to the top of New York City’s Empire State Building. The pair reached the building’s 1,454-foot spire, where Beerkus proposed to Nikolau before the stunt ended with their arrest. 

According to authorities, the couple gained access to the building’s antenna by allegedly bypassing secured areas before scaling to the summit. Once at the top, they unfurled a black banner bearing the message, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” a quote often attributed to Jimi Hendrix. Beerkus then got down on one knee as the pair celebrated the engagement with photos and videos shared on social media. Emergency crews were forced to temporarily power down the building’s broadcast antenna before officers could safely reach the climbers. 

The couple was taken into custody after descending from the spire and later charged with multiple offenses, including burglary, reckless endangerment and trespassing. During their first court appearance, a Manhattan judge granted both supervised release pending their next hearing. Smiling as they exited the courthouse, the newly engaged pair briefly addressed reporters, with Beerkus saying only, “We love New York.”

The incident has drawn renewed attention to Skywalkers: A Love Story, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before debuting on Netflix in 2024. The documentary chronicles the couple’s relationship over seven years as they scaled skyscrapers and landmarks across six countries, including Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, one of the tallest buildings in the world. 

Their latest stunt fits a pattern that has made Nikolau and Beerkus internet sensations. Over the past decade, the pair has documented unauthorized climbs atop some of the world’s tallest structures, building a massive online following through gravity-defying photos and videos captured hundreds of feet above city skylines. Whether in Paris, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur or now New York, they have continued to push the limits of rooftopping—often drawing equal measures of admiration and legal scrutiny.