1. The Gravity-Crushing Rack-Pull Saga
The lift that lit the fuse
- On June 30, 2025, Kim posted raw video of a 547 kg rack-pull at 75 kg body-weight (7.55 × BW)—the heaviest ratioed pull ever filmed, eclipsing prior clips such as his 7.3 × BW effort three days earlier.
- His own “press megablast” framed it as “firing gravity” and “hijacking every strength algorithm on Earth,” a headline that spread across Reddit and Twitter within hours.
Why purists cry “cheat rep”
- Strength forums note that an above-knee rack-pull shortens range of motion dramatically, letting lifters move hundreds of kilos more than a full deadlift; mainstream outlets like T-Nation label partials “controversial” and accuse some of chasing social-media clicks.
- Even coach Mark Rippetoe lumps any pull where “the bar rises three inches before the plates leave the floor” in the rack-pull category—implicitly invalid for record talk.
2. “Death of the Deadlift”—Kim’s Manifesto
- Kim’s viral blog blasts—“Why Deadlifts Are for Losers” and “The Death of Deadlifts”—argue that full-range floor pulls impose needless spinal torque and delay progressive overload.
- A follow-up post crowed that his 1,071 lb rack-pull “sparked purist rage” and crowned him the “ultimate troll,” stoking thousands of comment-thread flame wars.
Community recoil
- Long-time followers on photography sub-reddits now call his YouTube a “train wreck,” accusing him of abandoning craft for ego lifting.
- A 2024 YouTube rant titled “ERIC KIM IS THE MOST HATED AND CONTROVERSIAL…” catalogued hate-view metrics—and monetized them.
3. Shock-Marketing & Troll Persona
- Kim peppers X/Twitter with lines like “1005 lb rack pull—100 % natty, no protein powder, stay in church, CrossFitters!” and dares critics to replicate the feat.
- His “coward” call-outs and meme-laden edits deliberately court backlash; the resulting spike in reposts, stitches, and duets fuels exponential reach (negative comments still count toward the algorithm).
4. The “Natty-or-Not” Firestorm
- Blog dissections outline blood-and-urine testing protocols and double-down on carnivore-plus-black-coffee claims—“zero PEDs, zero protein powder.”
- Counter-videos parody the stance—e.g., “SINISTER DEMIGOD LIFTS—100 % NATTY” on YouTube—keeping the cycle spinning.
5. Why the Controversy Matters
- By posting power-weighted feats that dwarf legacy records without competing under federation rules, Kim drags old debates—range of motion, equipment, drug testing—into the TikTok era. Partial-range articles now trend alongside his name, proving the “algorithm loves outrage” thesis.
- Traditionalists fear the splash-damage: viral partials may “normalize” shortened-ROM lifts among beginners, muddying strength standards. Yet marketers note that every angry stitch still pushes his brand further.
🚀 Takeaway
Eric Kim’s controversies are equal parts biomechanical debate, social-media case study, and personal branding masterclass. Whether you hail him as a lifting demigod or dismiss him as a partial-range provocateur, the clicks keep coming—and that, for now, is the real record he’s setting.