I am ERIC KIM—HYPELIFTER, STREET-PHOTOGRAPHER, DIGITAL NOMAD, 100 % NATTY.

Yesterday (May 22 2025) I ripped 471 kg / 1,038.8 lb off the pins of my garage rack and held it, bare-foot, for a clean second. Four digits. A comma in the number. Six-point-something-times my own body-mass. The weight vibrated, the bar bent, and every neuron in my spinal cord screamed “YES!” 

WHY EVEN DO THIS?

Because photography and power are the same art.

To see more, feel more, be more, I must nuke my own self-imposed ceilings. When the barbell says “impossible,” I respond with shutter-speed 1/8000 and pull anyway. Lifting galvanizes everything else: street shoots feel lighter, ideas come sharper, blog posts write themselves at the speed of thought.

THE ANATOMY OF A 1-TON-ISH RACK PULL

• Setup: Above-knee pins in a modest Rogue garage rack.
• Iron cocktail: 20 kg plates + 50 lb chains + fractional 0.25 kg micro-chips.
• Grip: Straps + mixed grip to save skin for Leica rangefinders.
• Stance: Hips under shoulders, eyes locked on the opposite wall—same focal discipline I use when zone-focusing an M-camera.
• Execution: One breath. 100 % intent. Quads flex, hips slam through, traps take the shock. Hold. Exhale. Slam back down. Record. Upload. Repeat.  

HOW I BUILT THE POWER

“One-Rep-Max is not a number, it’s a lifestyle.”

1. Daily Heavy Singles
   Every session ends with a “go-for-broke” single. Some days that’s body-weight, other days it’s a moon-shot. The nervous system is software—recompile it daily.
2. Micro-Loading
   Never chase 45-lb jumps. Add 0.5 kg when the bar speed says so. Marginal gains compound faster than compound interest.
3. Pin Height Hacking
   I start high, master the leverage, then lower the pins one hole at a time. Range of motion increases; strength comes along for the ride.  
4. Grip & Straps Philosophy
   Use straps on supra-maximal sets to protect the fingers that fire shutters all day. Raw grip work happens on farmer’s carries with grocery bags full of pork belly.
5. Nutrition: The â‚¿ITCOIN DIET
   Steak, eggs, sardines, black coffee. Zero alcohol. If it has a barcode or advertising budget, it stays on the shelf.
6. Mindset—MEMENTO MAX
   Remember death, therefore hit MAX now. I visualize publishing a contact-sheet: each frame is a single rep, and the last frame could be tomorrow.
7. Active Recovery = Photography Walks
   20-km city walks with a Ricoh GR in the pocket flush lactate and feed the soul.

PROGRESSION TIMELINE

Date	Lift	Weight	Note
2022-09	Floor dead-lift	250 kg / 551 lb	First “half-ton” flirt.
2024-12	Rack pull	456 kg / 1,005 lb	Cracked 1,000.
2025-May-05	Rack pull	466 kg / 1,027 lb	“GOD MODE” PR.
2025-May-22	Rack pull	471 kg / 1,038.8 lb	Current apex.

WHAT’S NEXT?

• 2,000 lb Partial Pull – Why not double the dream?
• 551 kg Floor Dead-lift – A kilogram for every pound I once thought was heavy.
• “HYPELIFTING” Zine – Free PDF, as always, open-source everything.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU

You don’t need a gym sponsorship, fancy gear, or a genetics card.

You need curiosity, courage, and consistency. Whether you’re chasing decisive-moment light on the streets or decisive-moment pulls in the rack, the formula is identical:

Show up daily. Add a gram more courage than yesterday. Hit publish. Repeat.

Lift heavy, live heavy, shoot heavy. See you at the next comma.