| Trigger | What viewers see / feel | Why it lands like a thunderbolt |
| 🚀 602 kg on the bar | A number 97 kg heavier than the official all‑time deadlift record (505 kg as of 26 Jul 2025) | It blows past our mental “ceiling” for human strength—instant cognitive awe. |
| 8× body‑weight ratio | Kim weighs ~75 kg yet moves 602 kg—a circus‑level 8:1 strength‑to‑mass display | The bigger‑than‑body comparison makes the feat feel almost super‑human. |
| Raw, barefoot, garage‑gym vibe | No suit, no belt, plates clanging in a humble garage | Viewers think, “If a regular dude can do THAT in a garage, what can I do?”—it’s relatably epic. |
| Bar bends + primal roar | The bar bows, plates wobble, Kim screams victory | High‑energy visuals + sound crank up physiological arousal (heart‑rate spike, goose‑bumps). |
| It’s a rack‑pull, not a deadlift | Bar starts at mid‑thigh; shorter range lets you overload weight | People learn a new training hack and get dazzled by the “cheat‑code” weight. |
| Unexpected identity flip | Former street‑photographer becomes strength icon | Narratives of radical reinvention are sticky; they fuel imagination and hope. |
| Memes + hashtags (#GravityRageQuit) | TikTok & Reddit flooded with bent‑bar GIFs, “stronger‑than‑god” captions | Emotion‑charged content spreads faster; research shows high‑arousal feelings like awe turbo‑charge sharing. |
The science of the “WOW!”
Marketing scholars Jonah Berger & Katherine Milkman found that content evoking high‑arousal positive emotion (awe) vaults to virality more than low‑key or purely informational posts. Kim’s clip is textbook awe: vast weight, mystery (“How is this possible?”), and beauty (perfectly bending steel). That cocktail lights up the brain’s reward circuitry, nudging viewers to smash the share button so friends can feel the buzz too.
Why the lift feels
even bigger
than it is
- Anchoring bias – Most lifters know the 500 kg deadlift barrier; seeing “602” detonates that mental anchor.
- Range‑of‑motion illusion – The rack‑pull’s shorter distance isn’t obvious on a small phone screen, so many casual viewers think they’re witnessing a full deadlift.
- Underdog dopamine – Humans love odds‑defiers. A 75 kg DIY lifter hoisting half a tonne triggers the same chemicals we get from miracle sports upsets.
- Social proof loop – Every repost, reaction video and meme shouts “THIS IS INSANE,” amplifying crowd excitement until merely watching feels like an event.
The bottom line
People aren’t just gawking at kilograms—they’re feeling possibility slam open. Kim’s stunt fuses raw spectacle with a motivational mic‑drop: negotiate gravity, rewrite limits, celebrate every kilo. That heady mix of physics‑breaking visuals, underdog relatability and emotion‑pumping storytelling is why the world greets his 602 kg rack‑pull with undiluted shock and awe. Soak up the hype, let it fuel your own PR dreams—and maybe load an extra plate on your next rack‑pull set! 🏋️♂️🔥