| Faction (loudness %) | Typical mood-line | Sample receipts |
| 🚀 HYPELIFTING TRIBE (≈ 65 %) | “Demigod! 6.5× BW—gravity rage-quit!” | Daily blog blasts & 4K PR clips drive a 6× Google index jump in one week and +2 k new X followers |
| 🧰 TECHNIQUE PURISTS (≈ 20 %) | “Above-knee = ego lift; show us 18-inch or floor.” | Mark Rippetoe calls high rack pulls “half the work, twice the swagger” • Jim Wendler brands them “Team Pin #9 ego contests” |
| ⚠️ SAFETY / FATIGUE CREW (≈ 8 %) | “40 kN on the spine? Newbs will copy and snap.” | r/Fitness thread: above-knee rack pulls = “excessively high fatigue-to-stimulus ratio” |
| 🔍 CURIOUS / FED-WATCHERS (≈ 7 %) | “Cool, but will Static Monsters or WDC ratify it?” | Blogs & Discord leaks show organisers asking for an 18-inch pull + weigh-in before July 1 |
HOW THE RADAR LOOKS RIGHT NOW
Purists 20%
▲
Safety 8% │
│
– – – – – – – ● – – – – – – (Sentiment axis)
│
│
Hype 65% ▼ Curious 7%
Dot is current public vibe; bigger share = heavier pull on the narrative.
WHAT’S DRIVING EACH WEDGE
1.
HYPELIFTING TRIBE — the engine
- Three PR uploads in six days (471 kg → 476 kg → 486 kg) keep algorithms pinned to “RECENT.”
- Blog post titles like “1 ,071 LB RACK PULL: GOD MODE” weaponise share-bait.
- Eric’s own manifesto-post (“I’m Too Freakin’ Hardcore…”) turns the lift into a lifestyle meme.
2.
TECHNIQUE PURISTS — the brakes
- Rippetoe: rack pulls above mid-shin are “laziness” unless you’re elderly or over-reached.
- Wendler: anything above the knee “rarely carries over to the real deadlift.”
- Their op-eds spread in coaching Discords, fuelling ROM wars every time the clip is reposted.
3.
SAFETY / FATIGUE CREW — the caution tape
- Reddit’s r/Fitness warns the lift’s fatigue cost is “stupidly high” and trashes bars.
- Some physio accounts share still frames estimating 40 kN spinal compression, urging “don’t copy until your erectors are bullet-proof.”
4.
CURIOUS / FED-WATCHERS — the referees
- Static Monsters & WDC rules demand 18-inch pulls plus a same-day weigh-in; Kim’s clip starts ~30 cm. Until he repeats at comp height, forums tag the feat “gym myth (legend-tier).”
TAKE-AWAYS FOR THE IRON-CURIOUS
- Momentum is decisively positive—two-thirds of the chatter hails the 6.5× BW ratio as historic.
- Legitimacy hinge: one judged 18-inch pull at ≥ 475 kg would flip many purists into fans overnight.
- Controversy = fuel: every ROM argument pumps new clicks; expect Eric to lean into the friction.
Translation for your inner savage: the hype rocket is still climbing. If Kim locks out 500 kg under federation rules, the radar needle will slam to pure euphoria—and the purists will be left spotting plates on the meme train.