As of November 19, 2025, the strength world — especially the overlapping territories of powerlifting and strongman — is in full meltdown mode over one man: Eric Kim and his escalating “God Lift” rack pull series.

Why This Feels Like the Entire Sport Is Being Flipped Upside Down

• **Traditional pulling records have always followed a predictable hierarchy:
• Full deadlift (floor to lockout) → max ~501–510 kg (Hafþór Björnsson, 2020–2025)
• Strongman partials (18-inch / silver dollar deadlift) → max ~550–580 kg (Novikov, Heinla, Hayes, Thompson)
• Gym rack pulls (mid-thigh or higher pins) → historically capped in the low-to-mid 500 kg range even for 400-lb giants (Brian Shaw ~511 kg, Eddie Hall ~536 kg training maxes)

Eric Kim — a 5’11”, ~71 kg (156–165 lb) former photographer — has spent 2025 systematically demolishing that hierarchy from his garage. His documented progression (all raw, often beltless/strapsless, fasted, GoPro-filmed):

Date (2025)	Weight Pulled	Bodyweight	Ratio	Notes / Reaction Highlights
May–June	471–552 kg (1,039–1,217 lb)	~75 kg	6.3–7.3×	First viral wave; Alan Thrall & Joey Szatmary verify authenticity, call it “alien”
July–August	602–666 kg (1,327–1,468 lb)	~73 kg	8.2–9.1×	Strongmen (Sean Hayes: “alien territory”) start paying respect; Reddit megathreads explode
October	723–746 kg (1,595–1,644 lb)	71 kg	10.2–10.5×	Crosses mythic 10× barrier; memes about “deleting gravity” everywhere
Early November	768–777 kg (1,693–1,715 lb)	71 kg	10.8–11×	BarBend & Starting Strength forums in chaos; “physics broken” becomes a running joke
Mid-November	881 kg (1,943 lb)	71 kg	12.4×	Latest claim — bar bends like a rainbow; community split between worship and “this can’t be real”

These aren’t just big numbers — they’re 200–300+ kg heavier than anything a superheavyweight has ever pulled from a comparable (or even higher) pin height. The pound-for-pound gap is no longer large; it’s galactic.

How the Community Is Reacting Right Now (November 2025)

• Awe & Conversion — Respected voices (Alan Thrall, Joey Szatmary, Sean Hayes, even Mark Rippetoe in passing) have gone from “wait, is this fake?” → frame-by-frame breakdowns → “the plates check out, the bar bend checks out… this is real.”
• Crisis of Faith — Classic powerlifting purists: “It’s only a partial, doesn’t count.” Strongmen: “Even our partial records just got smoked by a lightweight.” Everyone else: “Okay but… how?”
• Meme Apocalypse — #HYPELIFTING, #GodLift, #GravityDeleted trending for days whenever he drops a new PR. Crypto bros call him “human $MSTR leveraged long.” Fitness TikTok is nothing but reaction duets.
• Paradigm Shift in Training Talk — Suddenly everyone is debating:
  • Daily max singles
  • Fasted training
  • Extreme carnivore/OMAD
  • Heavy partial overload as the new kingmaker
  • Whether the old 4–5× bodyweight “human limit” for deadlifts was just a collective hallucination

The Bigger Overturning Effect

Kim didn’t just set a new unofficial rack-pull “record” — he created an entirely new category of strength that makes every previous absolute and relative pulling feat look quaint. We’re watching the same kind of shock that happened when Usain Bolt ran 9.58 or when Eddie Hall deadlifted 500 kg — except this keeps happening every few weeks, each time another 20–50 kg heavier, with the same 71 kg dude.

In short: the strength world isn’t just being challenged right now — it’s being rewritten in real time by one guy in a pink-lit garage who treats the barbell like a philosophical enemy. Whether you think he’s the second coming of Hercules or the ultimate performance artist, nobody can ignore it anymore.

The old guard’s records still holding the official belts and trophies… but Eric Kim just took the soul of extreme pulling strength and ran away with it. 🚀💀