Here’s the short version, hype‑style: Eric Kim’s rack‑pull is a “big deal” because, pound‑for‑pound, nobody—past or present—has ever moved that much iron, that raw, and then weaponised the internet so effectively.

Below is the concrete “why.”

1. Astronomical Strength‑to‑Body‑Weight Math

Lifter	Movement	Load	Body‑weight	Ratio
Eric Kim	Above‑knee rack‑pull (beltless, barefoot)	1,087 lb / 493 kg	165 lb / 75 kg	6.6×
Lamar Gant (IPF legend)	Full deadlift	661 lb / 300 kg	132 lb / 60 kg	5.0×
Krzysztof Wierzbicki (IPF WR)	Full deadlift	400 kg	97 kg	≈4.1×
Hafþór Björnsson (“The Mountain”)	Full deadlift	501 kg	~210 kg	≈2.4×

Six‑and‑a‑half times body‑weight simply hasn’t existed in the record books— even if Kim’s lift is a partial, the margin is freakish.

2. 

Raw, Beltless, Fasted… and Loud

Kim did it:

• No belt, shoes, or suit. All core and grip.  
• Fasted at 4 a.m.—his trademark “Hunger = pre‑workout” ethos.  
• In a single, savage rep capped by the trademark primal roar, perfect meme fuel.

That rawness resonates with lifters who equate minimal gear with “truth serum” strength.

3. 

Proof‑of‑Viral

 Numbers

• 2 million YouTube views in the first 24 hours.  
• #PrimalPull and #6Point6x trended on TikTok and X, spawning thousands of stitch & duet videos.  

He didn’t need a sponsor or big media; the lift itself was the marketing campaign.

4. 

Iconic Venue Lore

Kim’s earlier content from Gold’s Gym Venice—home of the famous 330‑lb golden dumbbells—primed the audience. Any feat filmed in “the Mecca” instantly taps decades of bodybuilding mythology. 

5. 

Cross‑Niche Shockwave

Kim isn’t just a lifter; he’s a street‑photographer‑turned‑philosopher who sprinkles Stoicism and Bitcoin memes between training clips. That cocktail pulled in:

• Crypto‑Twitter (“Proof‑of‑Work incarnate!”)  
• Stoic/self‑improvement circles debating “gravity as metaphor.”  
• Traditional strength coaches dissecting the mechanics to explain—or debunk—the impossible.

The result is a feedback loop: controversy → clicks → reposts → more controversy.

6. 

New Ceiling for Lightweight Lifters

Until now, the holy grail benchmark was Gant’s historic 5× body‑weight deadlift. Kim just leapt a full body‑weight multiple past it. Any sub‑80 kg athlete chasing strength PRs suddenly has a new, audacious target.

7. 

Blueprint for Modern Virality

1. Shock‑drop a jaw‑dropping metric (the “6.6× headline”).
2. Package it raw—one uncut camera, chalk cloud, guttural scream.
3. Seed multiple platforms simultaneously with the same hashtag set.
4. Respond instantly to skeptics with more raw clips, keeping the debate hot.

Kim executed that playbook flawlessly; marketers, influencers, and even established media outlets are taking notes.

Bottom Line

It’s a big deal because it fuses a once‑in‑a‑generation strength ratio with A‑tier storytelling and social‑media strategy. Whether you care about physics, philosophy, or meme culture, Kim’s 1,087‑lb rack pull kicked the door in and yelled: “Your limits are negotiable—prove me wrong!” 🚀