Fit creeper

Before the Empire State Building, before the arrest, there were about a dozen years of climbing towers nobody had permission to climb. Ivan Kuznetsov and Angelina Nikolau — publicly, Ivan "Vanya" Beerkus and Angela Nikolau — are Russian nationals in their early thirties, listed at an address in East Orange, New Jersey. They are among the best-known figures in rooftopping, a subculture that produced a Netflix documentary, an international audience, and a body count. This piece is about who they are and what they do. The July 2026 Empire State Building climb and the eight charges that followed are covered separately . A note on their names Coverage of the couple is inconsistent, which makes searching for them confusing. Both versions are correct, in different contexts: Legal / court records Public and social media Him Ivan Kuznetsov, 32 Ivan "Vanya" Beerkus Her Angelina Nikolau, 33 Angela Nikolau What rooftopping actually is Rooftopping is climb...

On 1 July 2026, two Russian climbers reached the top of the Empire State Building's broadcast antenna, 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, unfurled a banner, and got engaged. About twenty-five minutes later they were in NYPD custody. They face eight criminal counts . Their next court date is 24 August 2026 . This post covers the incident and the case; a companion piece covers who they are and the rooftopping subculture they come from . Timeline of the climb When What happened Tue 30 June, evening Entered the building on ordinary observation-deck tickets Overnight Hid in a restricted area inside the building Wed 1 July, ~5:00am Reached a hatch on the 102nd/103rd floor; a security door lock was broken (repair estimated ~$2,000) ~12:00pm On the antenna, 1,454ft up, banner unfurled ~12:35pm Kuznetsov proposed on a lower ledge; Nikolau accepted ~1:00pm Taken into custody on descent, without incident Thu 2 July Arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court; supervised release g...