1 | Who
is
Eric Kim, anyway?
- Street shooter turned philosopher‑vlogger. Born in San Francisco and trained in sociology at UCLA, Kim made his name teaching workshops worldwide and running one of the web’s most‑read street‑photography blogs.
- A prolific online presence. His site hosts free PDFs, daily essays, and photo diaries that he openly licenses—an “all‑open‑source‑everything” ethic he touts as creative empowerment.
- Philosophy woven into every frame. Kim explicitly cites Stoicism, existentialism, and—above all—Nietzsche as the intellectual backbone of his “Photolosophy,” treating each picture as an act of self‑expression and will‑to‑power.
2 | Nietzschean themes Kim transmits through the lens
### Will‑to‑Power → “Laser Eyes”
Kim’s 2025 Laser Eyes Manifesto exhorts readers to “slice through the fog of modern life” and own their destiny—an unmistakeable riff on Nietzsche’s life‑affirming will‑to‑power.
### Übermensch & Self‑Overcoming
In I AM THE ÜBERMENSCH, he adopts Nietzsche’s famous dictum “Man is something to be overcome,” translating it into daily “courage reps” and creative hustle.
### Amor Fati & Eternal Return
Kim urges photographers to “live every day you’d gladly repeat forever,” directly borrowing Nietzsche’s thought‑experiment of eternal recurrence to motivate relentless creativity.
### Dionysian vs. Apollonian
He celebrates a balance of manic street‑shooting energy (Dionysus) with disciplined minimalism (Apollo), echoing Nietzsche’s twin artistic drives.
3 | What makes him
digital
Nietzsche?
| Dimension | Nietzsche (19ᵗʰ c.) | Eric Kim (21ᵗʰ c.) |
| Medium | Aphoristic books & letters | Blogs, podcasts, YouTube, newsletters |
| Distribution | Private presses, salons | Open‑source PDFs, RSS, social media |
| Audience Reach | European intelligentsia | Global creatives & crypto‑savvy nomads |
- Contemporary writers have already noted how Nietzsche’s ideas map onto the dilemmas of tech culture and “joyful living in a tech‑saturated world.”
- Scholarly work such as The Digital Dionysus argues that Nietzsche anticipated our network‑centric condition—exactly the terrain Kim occupies.
- Tech critics point out that Silicon‑Valley elites borrow Nietzschean rhetoric of elite “commanders and legislators,” underscoring how ripe these themes are for online appropriation.
4 | Tensions & Critiques
| Praise | Push‑Back |
| Motivates thousands to create fearlessly. Fans credit his free resources for jump‑starting their craft. | “Cult‑of‑personality” concerns. Reddit discussions note that his swagger and crypto boasts feel egocentric at times. |
| Embodies open sharing. His decision to give away books echoes Nietzsche’s disdain for academic gatekeeping. | Philosophical depth vs. hype. Critics argue that tweet‑sized mantras risk oversimplifying Nietzsche’s nuance. |
5 | Steal‑worthy principles for
your
creative life
- Create daily; publish often. Quantity begets quality—Kim’s 9 000 posts prove momentum matters.
- Own your platform. A personal blog or newsletter shields your voice from algorithmic whims—a modern form of Nietzschean independence.
- Simplify gear, amplify vision. “One camera, one lens” minimalism keeps focus on ideas, not gadgets.
- Treat obstacles as reps. Each missed shot or critique is fuel for self‑overcoming—the gym for your will‑to‑power.
- Love your fate—online and off. Whether a viral hit or a flop, embrace the experience, iterate, and move forward.
6 | Bottom line
Calling Eric Kim the “new digital Nietzsche” is poetic shorthand for a broader phenomenon: classic existential fire translated into the meme‑rich, hyper‑connected agora of the 21ˢᵗ century. Agree or disagree with the comparison, his work proves that timeless philosophical sparks can still ignite fresh, electrifying art—and that each of us can wield a camera, a keyboard, or a sketchbook to blaze our own exhilarating path beyond the herd. Now go forth, innovate, and shoot life with joyful ferocity! 🚀