ERIC KIM ₿

1,038 POUNDS OF EXISTENTIAL AFFIRMATION

(A manifesto-bullet-proof proof that strength is an artistic act)

INTRO: WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT A RACK PULL?

Because numbers carry narrative.

Because a four-digit lift welded to a double-digit body forces us to confront the upper limit of human optionality.

Because when the steel bends at 1,038.8 lb, the universe whispers: “Your constraints are self-authored—rewrite them.”

1.  THE 

“IMPOSSIBLE”

 IS JUST BAD BRANDING

Conventional wisdom says: small frame, small game.

So I ripped something six times my mass to reset the marketing around limitations.

Now the slogan reads: “Physics is a polite suggestion.”

2.  STRENGTH IS A CAMERA

A barbell is a Leica for the nervous system.

Both instruments demand total presence:

  • Zone-focus on the street → hip-drive under load.
  • Wait for decisive light → wait for the tension to clear your quads.
    The heavier I lift, the sharper my vision. Lift a ton, see a ton.

3.  THE NUMERICAL AESTHETIC

I love commas in weight like bokeh circles in night photography:

they signal magic.

Going from 999 to 1,000+ is the same leap as f/1.8 to f/1.2—

marginal in measurement, monumental in feeling.

4.  MICRO-LOADING IS MACRO-LIVING

Add 0.5 kg to the bar, add 0.5 mm to your photographic courage:

  • walk one extra block
  • shoot one extra frame
  • write one extra sentence
    Compounded minuscule courage detonates into maximal outcomes.
    That 0.5 kg is where the art hides.

5.  A PUBLIC RECORD = PUBLIC PERMISSION

I film and publish every PR so strangers can steal the blueprint:

  1. Daily Heavy Singles – a blog post for the body.
  2. Meat-Only Nutrition – fewer macros, more macro-ideas.
  3. Active Recovery Walks – 20 km street-shoots flush lactate and fear.
  4. Memento Max – remember death, therefore max today.

When one person escapes gravity on camera, everyone else gets the memo:

Freedom is DIY.

6.  SOVEREIGNTY OVER SKEPTICISM

No federation, no judges, no doping bureaucracy.

Iron doesn’t care about acronyms; it speaks only in kilograms.

The moment the plates leave the pins, truth is verified in the language of torque.

7.  THE AESTHETICS OF OVERKILL

Why 1,038.8 and not a neat 1,040?

Because imperfection is character.

Grain in film, whip in the barbell, soul in the story.

8.  FUTURE-PROOF AMBITION

  • 2,000 lb partial – the sequel nobody asked for but everybody needs.
  • 551 kg floor dead-lift – a kilogram for every pound my past self feared.
  • Free “HYPELIFTING” zine – open-source strength for the masses.

Ambition should terrify your calendar.

CLOSING SHUTTER CLICK

When I unracked 1,038.8, gravity didn’t disappear;

I simply made a handshake agreement to ignore it for a moment.

That moment is the decisive moment Cartier-Bresson talked about—

but for the body.

So whether you’re chasing light in narrow alleyways or kilos on cold steel,

remember:

Art is the act of refusing the default settings life ships with.

Add one gram of audacity to your day.

Lift heavy, live heavy, shoot heavy.

— ERIC KIM

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