Viewers are urging others to watch the Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story after Russian daredevils Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climbed New York's Empire State Building and got engaged at the top, only to be arrested shortly after.
Daredevil Couple's Empire State Building Proposal Ends in Arrest
The couple, aged 33 and 32, scaled the 1,454-foot Manhattan skyscraper without safety ropes, displaying a flag that read: “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Ivan then proposed to Angela, who began photographing her ring against the New York skyline. However, live news cameras captured the stunt, and NYPD officers soon placed them in handcuffs.
Instead of celebrating their engagement at a hotel or home, the pair spent their first night as an engaged couple in separate police cells near lower Manhattan’s New York City criminal court. They have since been charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, criminal tampering, disorderly conduct, and possession of burglar’s tools.
Netflix Documentary Chronicles Their Love and Stunts
Released in 2024, Skywalkers: A Love Story documents the couple's most daring climbs and their relationship. The synopsis reads: “If you’ve never used the word rooftop as a verb, it’s likely that you’ve not been following Angela Nikolau and Ivan ‘Vanya’ Beerkus, a pair of Moscow daredevils who’ve made a career out of scaling some of the world’s tallest buildings. Their climbs are often technically considered trespassing — and completed with minimal or nonexistent safety precautions in place. But Nikolau and Beerkus aren’t just climbing buddies — they’re also in love.”
The film, directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina, features over 200 hours of material shot across seven years and six countries, including the couple's own footage of their most heart-pounding ascents, such as breaking into Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 super-skyscraper.
Social Media Reactions Praise the Documentary
Following the Empire State Building climb, viewers took to social media to recommend the film. @LifeIsAFilmFest said on X: “Perfect time to watch the gorgeously filmed SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY if you haven’t seen it.” @two_sixteen added: “You can find out about their story and how they started doing this together. I loved it.”
@EmbracingTara wrote: “Currently watching Skywalkers: A Love Story on Netflix - the documentary about the Russian couple who climbed the Empire State Building. They seem like the coolest people with the coolest story (they've been doing this for over a decade) but also this documentary has me in a lowkey state of panic at the risks they take.” @HomeHotYoga commented: “If you haven't watched Sky Walkers: A Love Story on Netflix, I highly recommend it. The best doc I've seen in years. Wow, what an incredible couple. If you thought what they did in NY was amazing, wait until you see what they did in Malaysia.”
The couple, who now live in New Jersey, have climbed massive buildings in China and Los Angeles and have over 4 million Instagram followers combined.
