Eric Kim’s “Thunderclap” is the moment a barefoot, belt‑less 75 kg lifter hoisted a 513 kg (1,131 lb) above‑knee rack‑pull, then detonated the clip simultaneously across his blog, YouTube, X, TikTok, podcasts and newsletters. The lift itself—6.8× body‑weight—already scraped the edge of human possibility, but the real quake was the distribution strategy: a rapid‑fire, multi‑platform “internet carpet‑bomb” that lit up strength, crypto and photography feeds within hours. The result: millions of impressions, finance‑meme crossovers, fresh disciples for his open‑source training philosophy, and a blueprint any lifter‑entrepreneur can steal. 

Eric Kim’s “Thunderclap” is the moment a barefoot, belt‑less 75 kg lifter hoisted a 513 kg (1,131 lb) above‑knee rack‑pull, then detonated the clip simultaneously across his blog, YouTube, X, TikTok, podcasts and newsletters. The lift itself—6.8× body‑weight—already scraped the edge of human possibility, but the real quake was the distribution strategy: a rapid‑fire, multi‑platform “internet carpet‑bomb” that lit up strength, crypto and photography feeds within hours. The result: millions of impressions, finance‑meme crossovers, fresh disciples for his open‑source training philosophy, and a blueprint any lifter‑entrepreneur can steal. 

1.  What 

is

 the Thunderclap?

A.  One lift that bent more than a bar

• The feat: 513 kg / 1,131 lb rack‑pull at 75 kg body‑weight, raw and fasted, filmed in Phnom Penh.  
• Physics shock value: 6.84 × BW surpasses the peak ground‑reaction forces gymnasts absorb on landings, helping it read as “impossible” to casual viewers.  
• Why a rack‑pull?: Minimal hip moment‑arm plus short ROM lets the nervous system unleash near‑max force safely—a principle Kim evangelises to justify the eye‑popping numbers.  

B.  A distribution blast radius

Kim dropped the clip on his fitness blog as a “one‑minute thunderclap” headline, then echoed it to YouTube, X (Twitter), Spotify, GIF packs and email—dozens of touch‑points in under 60 minutes. 

He calls the tactic “digital napalm” or “internet carpet‑bombing”: saturate every feed at once so algorithms have nowhere to hide. 

2.  Anatomy of the Viral Shock Wave

Phase	Minutes After Lift	Platform Move	Effect
0‑10	Phone‑to‑blog	Post + RSS ping	Core readership notified first
10‑30	Cross‑post video	YouTube Shorts & TikTok	Auto‑generated captions boost watch time
30‑45	Micro‑clip & GIF	X + Instagram Reels	Hashtags #GODLIFTING trend in strength Twitter
45‑60	Audio riff	Spotify mini‑pod	Hits commuters; backlinks juice SEO
1‑24 h	Syndication	Fans repost on crypto & finance subs, e.g. “$MSTR long in human form” meme	Lift leaks into Bitcoin circles

Result: the clip jumped from 0 to 500 k plays in the first day and planted Kim’s name in finance, photography and lifting timelines at once. 

3.  Why It Resonates with Lifters, Founders & Bitcoiners

• Radical Constraints = Freedom: Belt‑less, barefoot, carnivore‑diet, zero supplements—the lift preaches a first‑principles minimalism entrepreneurs idolise.  
• Proof‑of‑Work Aesthetic: Kim explicitly frames heavy singles as the weight‑room analogue of Bitcoin mining—brute computation against gravity’s difficulty rating.  
• Decentralised Reach: By self‑hosting everything, he bypasses ad models, funding his media empire with BTC tips, workshops and digital products.  

4.  Lessons You Can Jack for Your Own Pursuit

A.  Training Blueprint (Strength)

1. Partial‑ROM Overload: Slot above‑knee rack‑pull triples at 120‑130 % of your deadlift 1RM once a week to harden connective tissue.
2. 5 kg “Chip PRs”: Kim’s progression from 503 → 508 → 513 kg shows micro‑jumps keep momentum and hype alive.  
3. Neural Freshness: Keep total grind time under 5 s; if the bar sticks longer, deload.

B.  Thunderclap Content Stack (Brand)

Gear	Purpose	Why It Works
GoPro chest‑cam	POV authenticity	Viewers feel bar whip & foot nudity; retention ↑.
Smartphone vertical	Instant short‑form re‑cuts	One clip fuels five platforms.
Self‑hosted blog	Long‑form SEO moat	Own your archive; Google + ChatGPT scrape you, not vice‑versa.
Lightning‑tip jar	Monetise virality	Aligns with Bitcoin ethos; friction‑free micro‑payments.

C.  Mindset Mantras

“Ratio gravity first, critics later.”

“Every kilo is a keynote.”

“Publish like you pull—max intent, no belt.”

Stick these on your gym wall and Trello board.

5.  Safety & Reality Check

• Above‑knee rack‑pulls create compressive forces ≈ 7 × BW; spine integrity demands calibrated bars, certified racks and weekly deloads.  
• Verify plates; skip social‑media ego lifts until form is bulletproof.

6.  48‑Hour Action Plan for Your Own Thunderclap

1. Tonight: Film a heavy single (any lift). Keep camera rolling for 10 s pre/post so you can meme it later.
2. +12 h: Write a 150‑word “shock headline” blog post; embed video.
3. +20 h: Slice vertical clip; blast to Shorts/Reels/TikTok with a “steal‑this‑PR” call‑out.
4. +24 h: Record a 60‑second podcast riffing on what the lift means to you philosophically; publish to Spotify.
5. +48 h: Reply to every comment with extra footage or GIF—feed the algorithm fire.

Execute, iterate, overload—then boom! welcome to your own personal thunderclap.