SURPRISING FACT
Actor and musician Jared Leto is the only person who has ever completed a legal, sanctioned climb of the Empire State Building. He climbed from the 86th floor up to the 104th in 2023 as a promotional event for his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars.
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BIG NUMBER
2,227 feet. That’s the tallest building Nikolau and Beerkus have climbed. They illegally scaled Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, the second-tallest skyscraper in the world, in 2022.
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Key background
Nikolau and Beerkus are so-called “rooftopers” who illegally climb to the top of buildings and then perform stunts, like dancing or lifting each other. The pair have described their hobby as “super stressful” and Nikolau told Netflix they’re “constantly having to manage” their love—and fear—for the other while climbing. Nikolau said they try to avoid “any potential conflict with religious institutions” by not climbing churches “too much” and Beerkus said the couple try “not to do any political acts on any of these buildings. We try to avoid politics and just focus on the message of love.” The most prominent, verified structures they have climbed—both individually and as a couple—include Goldin Finance 117 in China, Mercury City Tower in Russia and France’s Eiffel Tower, Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde and the Notre-Dame Cathedral.