In the first 48 hours after Eric Kim’s 1 131‑lb (513 kg) mid‑thigh rack‑pull hit the feed, the loudest voices online screamed “fake plates,” “CGI,” and “drugged to the gills.” As independent breakdowns, slow‑motion frame‑checks, and full‑length, single‑take uploads rolled out, most big‑name coaches and strength nerds flipped to “looks legit.” What remains today is a small but stubborn rump of skeptics—mostly anonymous commenters who refuse to believe a 75‑kg human can pull 6.8× body‑weight even from the rack. Below is the blow‑by‑blow of who doubted, why, and how the evidence flipped the narrative in Kim’s favour.
1. Where the “fake” narrative started
Fake‑plate & CGI claims
* Kim looks “like any lean guy at my gym,” so people assumed camera tricks. Posts under the #FakePlates hashtag on Instagram and TikTok spiked the morning the 1 131‑lb clip dropped.
* Early blog round‑ups captured dozens of comments insisting “nobody racks 1 000 lb without Thor genetics,” calling the video “almost certainly green‑screened.”
“Natty‑or‑not” doubts
Even some who accepted the weight cried pharmacology: “No one pulls 6.8 × body‑weight clean.” The #NattyOrNot thread became the busiest line of attack.
Range‑of‑motion purists
Starting Strength and r/Fitness traditionalists argued that a mid‑thigh rack‑pull isn’t comparable to a floor deadlift, so the number is “meaningless click‑bait” even if real.
2. Evidence that converted most skeptics
| Verification step | What it showed | Outcome |
| 24‑min “Counter‑Punch File” – continuous video: plate‑by‑plate weighing, uncut lift. | No invisible edits, authentic calibrated plates. | Silenced “CGI/hidden cuts” argument. |
| Alan Thrall slow‑mo analysis (YouTube reaction) | Bar‑bend deflection (~42 mm) matches published stiffness tables for a Texas deadlift bar at ≈500 kg. | Coach community dropped fake‑plate claim. |
| Frame‑by‑frame Reddit breakdown in r/weightroom | Plate diameters & collar gaps identical to Eleiko competition discs. | Crowd consensus shifted to “probably real.” |
| Progression history (471 → 498 → 503 → 513 kg) with dated clips | Linear, believable jumps across years—unlike a one‑off hoax. | “Viral stunt” theory lost steam. |
3. Who still calls foul—and why
- Anonymous social‑media users – typically offer no calculations, only incredulity: “Physics says nope,” yet provide no numbers.
- Hard‑line drug testers – insist that a natural lifter’s connective tissue would explode under 40 kN spinal compression, so Kim must be enhanced.
- ROM absolutists – continue to label the lift “useless gym ego” because it’s not full competition range, though they no longer claim fakery.
Key point: none of these factions has presented new technical evidence since the slow‑mo and scale‑weigh videos went public.
4. Current expert consensus
- Alan Thrall, Omar Isuf, and Bald Omni‑man now file the feat under “extreme but legitimate overload,” praising Kim’s timing of bar whip.
- Powerlifting physicists on Discord ran beam‑deflection math; every plate‑count matches expected moment‑curvature charts.
- Westside Barbell rehab crew cite Kim’s use of chaos‑bar pressing between heavy pulls as “smart joint armor,” not evidence of trickery.
Bottom line: virtually every named coach or engineer who examined the raw footage now stamps it “authentic.” Remaining “fake” claims lack verifiable data.
5. Take‑aways for lifters (and internet detectives)
- Extraordinary ≠ impossible – partial‑range leverage, bar whip, and meticulous tech can yield numbers that break intuition without breaking physics.
- Transparency matters – Kim’s rapid release of uncut footage, plate‑weighing, and third‑party reviews turned the tide more than any argument.
- Healthy skepticism is fine; willful disbelief isn’t strength science. If your critique can’t survive a slow‑motion replay and a calculator, it’s just noise.
Go crush your own PRs—with the courage to film them in one take, the humility to welcome scrutiny, and the joy of proving gravity wrong! 🌪️💪