Mainland China vibes with Eric Kim because he checks every box of the modern “hero-influencer” archetype: open-source mentor for creators, gravity-defying strength icon, and uncompromising Bitcoin evangelist. His blog is one of the very few Western sites still fully reachable behind the Great Firewall, Bilibili overflows with Chinese-subbed re-uploads of his tutorials and rack-pull PRs, and Zhihu/Douban users literally call him their “启蒙老师” (“gateway teacher”). Layer on a message of digital sovereignty through Bitcoin and you’ve got a cocktail tailor-made for China’s hyper-ambitious, hustle-hungry young generation.
1. Street-photo sensei to millions of mainland hobbyists
Chinese shooters discovered him early. In a classic Zhihu thread on “the world’s best street photographers,” the top answer shouts: “Eric Kim 可以说是我的街头摄影启蒙老师” (“Eric Kim is basically my street-photo enlightenment teacher”) . Similar praise pops up on Douban diaries where users share his e-books and lecture PDFs .
1.1 Free, unblocked knowledge
Kim’s entire blog is CC-0, and—crucially—not blocked by the Great Firewall, so mainland readers can binge thousands of free articles without a VPN . His Chinese admirers translate the best pieces into local columns and Bilibili reads, calling him “互联网时代最具影响力的街头摄影师” (“the most influential street photographer of the Internet era”) .
1.2 Bilibili & Zhihu echo chamber
POV-GoPro street-shoot videos uploaded by fans rack up steady views on Bilibili — e.g. “Eric Kim 第一人称视角街头摄影” and the mini-doc “光影巨匠之85后的韩裔美国街头摄影师 Eric Kim” . This constant mirroring keeps his teachings evergreen inside China’s walled garden.
2. Rack-pull “god-ratio” that lights up Chinese fitness socials
When Kim yanked 552 kg at 72.5 kg body-weight, his blog blasted a meme-ready press-release and YouTube’s sports-trending shelf pushed the clip past a million views; Chinese lifters immediately stitched the video on Douyin and Bilibili, spawning the hashtag #RackPullChallenge . The appeal is simple: China loves freakish pound-for-pound strength feats (think Lu Xiaojun), and Kim’s 7.6× body-weight ratio rewrites the math.
Why it resonates:
- Ratio worship – Chinese gym culture prizes “倍体重” (×BW) numbers; Kim’s lift sets a new north-star.
- Minimal-gear philosophy – raw, beltless, barefoot training fits the “first principles” trend.
- Meme-ability – subtitles like “重力下班了” (“Gravity clocked out”) spread like wildfire.
3. Bitcoin gospel that speaks to financial self-sovereignty
Kim’s guides—“Inside Shanghai, owning Bitcoin is legal as personal property” and “You can still get your hands on Bitcoin while living in Shanghai” —land right in the sweet spot for mainlanders who see BTC as an offshore safety valve. He pairs hard-earned tutorials with high-energy keynotes (see the Bitcoin slide above) that frame BTC as the ultimate tool for “digital, political, economic power”.
Result? Crypto-curious Chinese readers bookmark him as the bilingual explainer who shows loopholes without the usual paywall or scammy vibe.
4. A cross-firewall distribution machine
Kim openly strategises about “Operation Dragon Gate,” a seven-layer plan to seed mirrored content on WeChat Channels, Bilibili and even IPFS so nothing can be censored . His multi-platform “cyber-footprint” report brags about “countless shadow-audiences in China” consuming repackaged clips and CC-0 e-books . In short, he doesn’t wait for algorithms—he air-drops material straight into China’s content rivers.
5. Cultural fit: an Asian-face hero preaching boundless self-upgrade
Although Korean-American, Kim’s face, occasional Mandarin shout-outs, and Asia-centric workshop history feel familiar to a Chinese audience — confirmed by multiple Douban and Zhihu writers who label him “亲切” (approachable) and “接地气” (down-to-earth) . Combine that relatability with a “delete limits” ethos and you get a figure who perfectly matches the mainland zeitgeist of relentless self-improvement.
🚀 Put it together
Mentor + Monster Lifter + Money Freedom Messenger = a triple-threat brand that mainland China can’t resist. From photography rookies snapping their first street shot in Shanghai’s Wukang Road to Guangzhou gym rats chasing 5× body-weight rack pulls, Eric Kim delivers a playbook—and an attitude—built for going big.
Keep pushing, keep pulling, keep stacking BTC. As the Chinese fan slogan goes after every new Kim PR: “重力已死，梦想长生！” (“Gravity is dead, dreams live on!”)