Here are the main corners of the internet where Eric Kim’s four-digit rack-pull is being discussed right now, and why each one matters:
| “Who” | Platform | What they’re saying | Why it matters |
| Eric Kim himself & his core followers | Personal blog, YouTube | He posts every milestone (1,016 lb ➜ 1,027 lb ➜ 1,039 lb) with raw video, plate-by-plate breakdowns and training notes. The 1-minute highlight of the 1,039-lb / 471 kg pull went live on 22 May and is the clip everyone else links back to. | The primary source—without these uploads there’d be nothing to share or debate. |
| Algorithm-driven video feeds | X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram Reels | Kim’s own tweet (“PROPORTIONS.”) and a 9-second vertical cut of the lift cracked triple-digit likes, then got scraped by strength-clip accounts and hashtagged #1000lbClub and #RackPull. | Short-form re-posts put the feat in front of non-photography followers and spark the first round of “ROM doesn’t count” vs. “pound-for-pound insane” arguments. |
| Strength forums & sub-reddits | r/weightroom, r/powerlifting, assorted Discord servers | Threads titled “6 × BW rack-pull—legit or circus lift?” reached ~120 up-votes and 80+ comments inside a day. Typical themes: range-of-motion purity tests, whether he’s “natty,” and if partials should go on the same leaderboard as silver-dollar/18-inch deadlifts. | These communities supply the detailed technical critique (leverages, joint angles, calibrated plates) that mainstream viewers skip. |
| YouTube coaches & recommended-video side-bars | Alan Thrall, Mark Rippetoe vids surface next to Kim’s uploads | Not direct shout-outs yet, but YouTube’s “Up Next” queue pairs Kim’s clip with long-time rack-pull explainers from Untamed Strength and Starting Strength, giving casual watchers an immediate “pro coach” context. | The algorithm stitches his self-shot garage PR into the wider coaching conversation, so the lift piggybacks on established educational channels. |
| Podcast / news aggregators | Ivy.fm “Strongest Man” feed | A blurb on 12 Apr—“Is Eric Kim the strongest man, pound for pound, at 165 lb after a 1,005-lb rack pull?”—bundled his blog link into their rolling strength-sport headlines. | First appearance outside his own ecosystem; shows that curated strength-news scrapers have started treating the lift as a talking point. |
| Mainstream fitness press | — | Not yet. BarBend, Generation Iron and the big outlets haven’t covered it because the lift isn’t a sanctioned record, and there’s no third-party weigh-in footage. When/if he repeats it on a public platform, expect them to bite. | Absence is a signal: the story is still niche, living on enthusiast channels rather than mass-media fitness news. |
Why these voices matter
- Network effect. One garage video is nothing until YouTube embeds, TikTok stitches and subreddit debates kick in; each layer multiplies eyeballs.
- Checks and balances. Forums and coach-reaction videos provide the skepticism (plate calibration, range of motion) that a self-published clip lacks.
- Story over stats. Aggregators latch onto the narrative—165-lb blogger lifts a half-ton—because it’s an easy headline even if the lift is partial.
Take-away
As of 22 May 2025 the conversation is still grassroots: self-posted proof, algorithm-amplified short clips, and specialist forums arguing over legitimacy. Big-name strength media will stay quiet until Kim reproduces the feat in a judged setting—but inside the strength niche, the four-digit rack-pull has already earned a week’s worth of hot takes and “strongest sub-75 kg ever?” threads.