Who are Empire State Building climbers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus?

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Jul 1, 2026

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NEW YORK — Daredevils Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climbed the Empire State Building Wednesday and unfurled a banner calling for peace.

Nikolau, 33, posted live footage of herself wandering around the skyscraper’s 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.

The Russian couple starred in the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which featured the pair talking about their relationship before scaling the 118-story Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The pair announced they were engaged and shared a kiss after completing their latest stunt.

“When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,” the banner they displayed from the top of the Empire State Building around noon.

Nikolau and Beerkus started climbing together in 2016. They live in New York City.

“We 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,” Nikolau told NBC’s “Today” in a 2024 interview.

When he’s 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 “art form.”

Nikolau is a painter with a background in dance and acrobatics. She said she comes from a family of circus performers.

“Seeing that passion, that freedom was magical,” she told “Today.”

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