A Cool Climb in Climacools: These are the Shoes Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus Wore to Free Solo the Empire State Building
PublishedQuick Facts
- Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, the stars of the Netflix documentary Skywalkers, figured out how to circumvent the internet culture’s split attention span, bringing the entire news industry and internet together to watch them climb the Empire State Building
- On their feet, Nikolau climbed the Empire State Building in a pair of high-top combat boots that look a lot like Dr. Martens, and Beerkus broke out a pair of the adidas Adifom Climacool in white and black
- Summer love is in the air, but it will be hard to keep up with this one
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Ah, the things we’ll do for love.
Okay, not us, but someone. Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, the stars of the Netflix documentary Skywalkers, figured out how to circumvent the internet culture’s split attention span, bringing the entire news industry and internet together to watch them climb the Empire State Building without ropes, harnesses, or safety equipment of any kind. So how did they do it? In combat boots and adidas Climacools, of course.
Empire State of Mind
As Nikolau and Beerkus climbed to the tip of NYC’s iconic skyscraper like King Kong, Beerkus stopped to propose marriage, and then the couple raised a banner calling for global peace and love. The scene from a cyberpunk romcom immediately captured the hearts of people everywhere, but us? We were focused on the footwear.
On their feet, Nikolau climbed the Empire State Building in a pair of high-top combat boots that look a lot like Dr. Martens, and Beerkus broke out a pair of the adidas Adifom Climacool in white and black. A bit of coincidence? The colorway dropped exactly three years ago, on July 1, 2023.
The Power of Love
Summer love is in the air, but it will be hard to keep up with this one. No matter what, though, the global spectacle is a reminder that you don’t need the most exclusive pair of kicks to win over the love of your life…you just might have to climb 1,454 feet into the sky above Manhattan with no rope to make up for it.
Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com
