The vibey lives of Angela and Ivan, after their proposal on top of the Empire State Building

Adrenaline junkies Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus went mega-viral this week after they scaled the Empire State Building for a marriage proposal.

The daredevils, who were featured in Netflix’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, scaled the entire building without ropes, support, or safety nets. Once at the top, Ivan got down on one knee to propose. Though love was quite literally in the air, the couple were soon arrested by the NYPD.

The Empire State Building described it as an “unauthorised incident”, adding: “It is to be emphasised that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the World’s Most Famous Building in the centre of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”

Though the stunt was undoubtedly dangerous, and no one is in any way condoning what could have gone horribly wrong, they’ve since been dubbed everything from “iconic” to “legends.”

“So like… do we hate or love them I’m confused,” one person wrote.

Here’s what we know about them.

BREAKING: Two people have climbed to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City, holding a banner from the skyscraper's antenna reading, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."

As of now it's unclear how the pair reached the top of the… pic.twitter.com/rUPZ6nc1eK

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 1, 2026

Angela Nikolau was raised in the circus

In an origin story straight from the pages of DC or Marvel, Angela Nikolau was raised in a Russian circus. Tumbling, stretching, and performance were just part of her daily life, following in the footsteps of her father, Dmitriy Nikolau.

“Why should I be worried? I climb up roofs myself,” he told Reuters. “I think it is normal to climb up a ‌roof ‌in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution.”

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A post shared by A N G E L A N I K O L A U (@angela_nikolau)

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus love rooftopping

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus have long been partakers of rooftopping, an extreme sport that sees people scale skyscrapers, cranes, bridges, and other urban environments without aid. Ivan alone has climbed landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Shanghai Tower, and Malaysia’s Merdeka 118.

Oh, and Ivan is a DJ

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A post shared by BEERKUS (@beerkus)

If climbing stupidly tall buildings wasn’t enough to get your heart pumping, Ivan also does full-on DJ sets at the top. In 2026, he’s doing 30 full sets across 20 cities.

They’re Russian-born but now living in New York

Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau were both born in Russia, and they lived in Moscow until earlier this year.

“We’re learning how to make friends again, how to find ourselves in a new city, how to communicate in a language that still feels foreign sometimes,” she wrote on Facebook. “And this whole experience has brought us even closer. We’ve become real best friends to each other. Sometimes we even have more fun just the two of us than in loud crowds.”

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Since moving, they’ve popped up at exceedingly tall landmarks across the United States.

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A post shared by A N G E L A N I K O L A U (@angela_nikolau)

They have a Netflix documentary

The couple first rose to fame in Netflix’s documentary, Skywalkers: A Love Story, which has shot back up to the number one spot on the chart.

“When they get on the spires or cranes, the danger factor is exponentially higher,” director Jeff Zimbalist said.

“They know each other and they can read each other’s [body] language, but we had not practised with them, so having cameras around could be distracting and put them in further danger. Luckily, they’re great photographers. They were able to get amazing coverage when they went up without us to these heights; [it’s] just gorgeous spectacle.”

The couple are also models

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A post shared by A N G E L A N I K O L A U (@angela_nikolau)

Last year, the vibey couple starred in their first modelling campaign for Diesel. In it, they were sitting atop a building sign whilst making out.

“We took part in a new campaign for @diesel,” they wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to the whole team for this incredible vibe.”

There’s an art component to their stunts

Though adrenaline obviously plays a part, Angela has long argued that there is an artistic component to their work. On Instagram, she described herself as a “neoartist exploring identity, fear & freedom,” adding that her dream is “to push the boundaries of what’s acceptable in art.”

Their Instagrams are like something from BookTok

New look at the couple who climbed the Empire State Building today. pic.twitter.com/uckAuD8bDm

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 2, 2026

People on Twitter are partially stunned by how hot Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus are, and their Instagrams fully cement that opinion.

The vast majority of their photos were taken up in the air, with Angela usually in aesthetic alt outfits. It helps that Ivan is a professional photographer.

These two are a hit BookTok novel in the making.

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Featured image credit: Instagram