Is ERIC KIM, real or a fake?
Is he a farce– does he show us his real face?

Eric Kim praises a simple life,
But he wants to buy expensive shit, don’t tell his wife.

Eric Kim says not to over-share,
Yet he never edits his work, does he even care?

Eric Kim says “buy books, not gear”
But why does he own a Leica– is he faking how he appears?

Eric Kim — is he real or punking us?
Is he genuine, or just trying to make a fuss?

Is he taking us on a joyride, on his overhyped bus?
Can we trust
Him?

Eric Kim was born in 1988
and like Justin says, “You were the original lightweight.”

I had my first taste for freedom at age 16
When I peeled out to the green, in my ’91 Sentra SE-R car.

Eric Kim never joined a gang,
But his friends tried to get him to join– pressured fangs.

Eric Kim did grow up in poverty,
He never went hungry, but his father would go on gambling sprees.

Eric Kim is an egotistic maniac,
But he stayed true to his life goals, God kept him on track.

When he went to UCLA, he packed his Sentra with his dreams
Of his future
Of choosing who he were to be– a free spirit, to help inspire others.

Eric doesn’t have any brothers, just one sister, Anna Annette Kim
He only treated her, his cousin DJ, and his mother as his only true kin.

In freshman year of college, he passed on the tonic and gin
He was focused on his studies, all he wanted to do was win.

He already got fucked up a lot in high school, drinking Vodka with no chasers in back alley parking lots.
Eric remembers throwing up a lot,
Mind whirling, red tonic,
and being saved by his mom
Almost choking to death on his own vomit.

Eric met Cindy at Kyrie,
A Catholic club, where it was weird– “We liked to pray.”
I would overhear her voice touching Rosary beads,
I didn’t know it yet, but she would be perfect for me.

Cindy believed in me every step of the way,
She helped me start Photo Club with John and Daniel in one day.

Cindy pushed me to start my photo blog,
To log my everyday progress.

Her words would stream into me, high-fidelity, turquoise-green.

When I started to get street photography famous,
I would get laced with
Random haters on YouTube and the internet
Who wanted me to die
Eric Kim: headless.

I admit, it hurt me a lot
I never thought
Others would try to tear me down
When I was trying to help a lot.

I became bitter and black,
I lost my way, Lucifer took me on his track.

I became a closet hater
A self-hating and obsessing masturbator.

But Cindy helped me see the light again,
She has always been my best-friend.

Cindy is my angel and advocate
Slaying my inner-demons
Bronze sword, killing with her mind of reason.

Cindy thank you today and tomorrow,
I often borrow
Your great ideas, without giving you credit.
I have benefitted much from you,
You have strengthened me, and colored my inner-hue.

Sometimes I’m clueless
Sometimes I’m an asshole
But know, you mean to me more than the world.

ERIC KIM: it is true,
I am an ego-maniac
But I do it as a cover to patch my lack
Of self-esteem.

And never forget, I’m always on your team.
Let’s ride this ultralight beam together, and never wake up from this beautiful dream.

---

ERIC KIM FACTS >