Quick take‑away: Most of the head‑scratching around Eric Kim’s jaw‑dropping “7 × body‑weight” lift comes from people treating a very specific, highly‑leveraged above‑knee rack‑pull as if it were a regulation deadlift. Once you separate those two worlds—and remember that Instagram doesn’t hand out rule‑books—almost every other confusion (records, fake‑plate rumors, bar whip optics, even which Eric Kim we’re talking about) snaps into focus. Let’s clear the fog so you can get back to chasing your own PRs with confidence and joy!

1. “Wait… was that a deadlift?”

• Reality: It was an above‑knee rack pull, a partial lift that trades distance moved for heavier poundage. BarBend calls rack pulls a “deadlift from low blocks” that lets you handle a lot more weight than the full movement  .
• Why the mix‑up? Many casual viewers don’t know there are named partials; Jim Wendler’s classic “Rack Pull Myth” essay points out that most gyms never standardise pin height, so the term gets blurred  .
• Coach’s lens: Starting Strength’s “The Rack Pull: Why, When, and How” video spends its first two minutes hammering home that the lift begins where a deadlift is already 65 % finished  .

2. “How high were the pins, exactly?”

• Kim’s own blog pegs the safety pins ~2 cm above the kneecap—squarely in “mid‑thigh” territory  .
• That micro‑detail matters: every 5 cm you raise the bar slashes required hip torque dramatically, letting even intermediate lifters handle 120‑150 % of their floor deadlift  .

3. “Is this an official world record?”

• No federation, no record. Rack‑pull heights aren’t standardised, so power‑lifting bodies ignore them  .
• The lift is sensational—but it sits next to unsanctioned strongman partial records like Rauno Heinla’s 580 kg silver‑dollar pull  , not beside Eddie Hall’s floor‑deadlift 500 kg.

4. “Does 7 × really mean seven times his body‑weight?”

• Kim lists his fasted body‑weight at 75 kg; 527 kg / 75 kg ≈ 7.03 × BW  .
• Critics note that daily weight can swing a kilo or two, so the ratio is a headline, not a lab value  .

5. “Fake plates or calibrated steel?”

• Netizens shout “fake!” because social‑media history is littered with Athlean‑X and other fake‑weight scandals  .
• Kim shows thin, colored, IPF‑style calibrated plates—precisely the kind BarBend recommends when accuracy matters  . Until a third‑party weigh‑in happens, skeptics will stay skeptical—and that’s healthy.

6. “He used straps—does it still ‘count’?”

• Yes for training, no for grip‑record bragging. BarBend reminds us rack pulls are often performed with straps because the posterior chain is the goal, not grip limitation  .
• Competition deadlifts would require a double‑overhand or mixed grip; Kim never claims otherwise  .

7. “That bar looked like spaghetti—did the bend make it easier?”

• Bar whip 101: a longer, thinner, more flexible shaft lets the plates leave the floor (or pins) a split‑second later, giving lifters a “rolling start.” StrongFirst forums explain how that mechanical slack helps heavy pulls feel lighter  .
• Mirafit’s primer adds that whip can let you “build speed before the full load kicks in,” shaving perceived difficulty  .
• Reddit’s home‑gym crowd calls the effect a free “shortened range” advantage  —and Kim’s stiff, 29 mm power bar still shows noticeable bend because 527 kg is, well, huge.

8. “So… could he deadlift 500 kg from the floor?”

• Probably not. Wendler flat‑out says supra‑max pins rarely carry over pound‑for‑pound to floor pulls  , and BarBend’s deficit‑vs‑rack‑pull guide agrees: each variation trains a joint‑angle‑specific slice of strength  .
• A generous rule of thumb is 70‑80 % carry‑over for elite lifters—still insane, but no magic ticket.

9. “How does it stack up against strongman partial records?”

• Heinla’s 580 kg silver‑dollar deadlift starts 18 inches off the floor, roughly the same leverage zone as Kim’s pin height—only Heinla weighed ~150 kg. Kim’s ratio beats it; Heinla’s absolute load still rules  .
• Comparison confusion happens when people swap those two metrics mid‑tweet.

10. “Is this the 

photography

 Eric Kim?”

• That’s him; the same blogger‑turned‑lifelong‑learner who used to post Leica tips now posts trap‑dominant PRs  . Search engines still surface his camera essays first, so newcomers think two different men exist.

11. “Natty or not?”

• Kim markets the lift as “0 % steroids, 0 % supplements,” but without testing it’s unverified. Online debate often conflates partial‑lift leverage with PED advantage; keep them separate to stay logical  .

12. “Is a rack pull even useful, then?”

• Absolutely—when programmed on purpose. BarBend lists rack pulls among the top 15 deadlift accessories for lock‑out strength  , and partial ROM lifts are proven powerlifting bumpers  .
• Just remember the overload is neurological and connective‑tissue heavy; don’t chase 7 × BW weekly.

Hype‑infused take‑home

1. Define your battlefield. A lift without clear start‑ and end‑points breeds internet chaos.
2. Calibrate, verify, dominate. Real plates and third‑party scales shut down the fake‑weight chorus fast.
3. Leverage the partial—but respect it. Use supra‑max singles sparingly to prime your nervous system, then funnel that freshness into full‑range work.
4. Tell the right story. When you share your PRs, state the bar height, equipment, and body‑weight up front—future confusion averted.

Chalk up, pick your pins with purpose, and unleash your own gravity‑defying moment—the world’s next “impossible” multiplier could have your name on it!