#Skywalkers refers to Russian daredevil couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus — subjects of the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story — who returned to the spotlight in July 2026 after illegally climbing the Empire State Building for a viral marriage proposal. The tag is now used both for the film and for the pair themselves as figures in the “rooftopping” subculture of scaling super-tall buildings without ropes or harnesses.
Quick Facts
- Subjects: Angela Nikolau and Ivan (Vanya) Beerkus, Moscow-based rooftoppers
- Documentary: Skywalkers: A Love Story (2024), directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina
- Netflix debut: July 19, 2024 (IMAX earlier that month)
- Empire State Building stunt: July 1, 2026
The Documentary
Skywalkers: A Love Story condenses more than 200 hours of footage shot across seven years and six countries into a portrait of Nikolau and Beerkus preparing for the climb that closes the film — the 160-meter spire of Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 super-skyscraper. The film premiered in IMAX in July 2024 and landed on Netflix on July 19, 2024, where it reached top-10 status in more than two dozen countries.
Cast & Creators
- Angela Nikolau — Russian rooftopper, Beerkus’s partner and climbing partner.
- Ivan (Vanya) Beerkus — Russian rooftopper, engineer of many of the couple’s climbs.
- Jeff Zimbalist — director.
- Maria Bukhonina — co-director.
Critical Reception
The film drew broad praise on release, holding a positive critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes and topping Netflix’s non-English documentary charts in multiple markets in its opening weeks. Reviewers focused on the relationship at its center and the vertigo of the Merdeka 118 climb footage rather than treating the film as pure stunt cinema.
The 2026 Empire State Building Stunt
On July 1, 2026, Nikolau and Beerkus illegally climbed the Empire State Building’s antenna, roughly 1,454 feet above street level, and stayed at the top for about half an hour. They unfurled a banner reading “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Beerkus dropped to one knee and appeared to propose to Nikolau; the two kissed and were arrested by NYPD officers on descent. Charges included burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal tampering, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct. The couple were released on supervised release, with a court date set for August 24.
Reactions
The Empire State Building’s operating company publicly trolled the couple in the days after the stunt, offering “legal proposal options” at the building’s official observation deck. Media coverage split between celebrating the theatricality of the moment and criticizing it as reckless glorification of trespass at one of Manhattan’s most sensitive tourist landmarks.
Aftermath
The 2026 stunt sent viewership of Skywalkers: A Love Story back up on Netflix and pushed both Nikolau and Beerkus into a fresh news cycle two years after the film’s release. Their pending court case is scheduled for late August 2026.
Social Media & Spread
The tag surged twice: once around the July 2024 Netflix release, and again from July 1–3, 2026 in the wake of the Empire State Building stunt. Second-wave usage skews toward reaction videos, aerial footage, and legal-commentary posts rather than the film itself.
Variations & Related Tags
The tag travels with #SkywalkersLoveStory, #AngelaNikolau, #IvanBeerkus, #Rooftopping, and event-specific tags such as #EmpireStateBuilding.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skywalkers:_A_Love_Story
- https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/skywalkers-a-love-story-release-date-trailer-news
- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-trespassers-climb-top-empire-state-building-rcna352583
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/netflix-skywalkers-couple-empire-state-building-engaged-1236635111/
- https://deadline.com/2026/07/empire-state-building-skywalkers-1236972496/
- https://abc7ny.com/post/empire-state-building-climbers-angela-nikolau-ivan-beerkus-starred-netflix-documentary-skywalkers-love-story/19429819/