Getting engaged is a whole thing. Getting engaged at the top of the Empire State Building‘s transmission tower, without permission, while dangling 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan and posting it live to Instagram, is a totally different category of commitment.
Angela Nikolau, 33, and Vanya Beerkus, 32, are Russian-born rooftoppers who have spent years building an international following by scaling some of the most heavily secured structures in Europe and Asia without ropes or safety gear. Their names are well known in extreme sports circles, and their relationship and lifestyle became the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which followed them as they climbed Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 Tower—currently the second-tallest building in the world. The Empire State Building, by comparison, was practically a warm-up.
On July 1, the pair accessed the building through a hatch on the 103rd floor used for water tower maintenance—a floor not open to the public—and climbed all the way to the top of the radio and television transmission tower. Once there, they unfurled a banner reading “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace”—a quote often attributed to Jimi Hendrix—and Beerkus dropped to one knee. Nikolau posted the proposal photos to Instagram before they’d even come back down.
The building’s active transmission tower added a layer of true danger to the stunt beyond the obvious. Climbing the tower while it’s powered up and transmitting poses particular hazards, including exposure to radio waves. The Empire State Building shut down the antenna as a precaution. NYPD responded, closed the streets below, and sent officers up in hard hats to escort them down. The pair were taken into custody without incident by around 12:35 p.m.
The charges they now face are considerable: burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, violation of local law, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct. The Empire State Building responded with a statement that managed to be both pointed and promotional, noting that “the Empire State Building Observation Deck does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”
Netflix ‘Skywalkers’ Couple Arrested After Empire State Building Proposal Stunt
Rooftopping, the subculture they belong to, traces its origins to Russia and China, where young people began filming illegal building climbs around 2010. The scene has produced both viral careers and fatalities. In 2017, a well-known Chinese rooftopper with over a million followers died after falling from the 62nd floor of a skyscraper while filming. Beerkus reportedly scaled the Eiffel Tower, the Sagrada Familia, and the Shanghai Tower before the two ever met. Angela’s father, identified as a Russian circus artist, reportedly had prior knowledge of the Empire State Building climb.
Eyewitness Hector Alvarez watched the couple walk out of the loading dock in handcuffs. “Wearing all black, they came out. They didn’t say anything. They were not hurt,” he told CBS News. “I’m guessing they knew they were going to get caught.”
They were engaged before they hit the ground. Whether that counts as a win is a matter of perspective.
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