It was incredibly dangerous, and things could have gone very differently. But now that it’s over, everyone’s safe, and nobody was hurt, I find myself sitting with something else entirely.
The two climbers were professional urban explorers and filmmakers, Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, whose relationship and extraordinary rooftop adventures were featured in the Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. In many ways, this felt like the latest chapter in the evolution of their partnership—a couple who have literally built a life around trust, courage, and taking on seemingly impossible challenges together.
Reckless? Perhaps. Romantic? Undeniably
Somehow, they made their way to the top of the Empire State Building, endured the heat, the wind, the exposure, and the knowledge that arrest was likely waiting below. They unfurled a banner that read, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Then, amid all of that intensity and improbability, Ivan proposed. For me, it feels like another thread in the tapestry of hope that keeps appearing around the world—people doing unusual, beautiful, and deeply human things that remind us of love, possibility, and meaning. There was something magical about taking an incredibly difficult and dangerous undertaking and turning it into a message of peace and a declaration of commitment.
Maybe that’s why this story has stayed with me
Beyond the headlines and the spectacle, it sparks something in the imagination. It reminds us that human beings still have the capacity to surprise one another, to create moments that feel almost mythic, and to express love in ways that invite all of us to think a little bigger about what’s possible. The human spirit remains a wonderfully confounding thing. See less
