Why the
giants
are suddenly looking over their shoulders
In one weekend a 75-kg garage lifter yanked 503 kg—more than half-a-ton—off the pins, raw, barefoot, belt-less.
That single clip up-ended three pillars of strongman orthodoxy at once:
| Pillar of Strongman Prestige | How Kim’s lift flips it | Why that rattles the pros |
| “Mass moves mass.” Strongman icons tip the scale at 180-200 kg. | Kim did it at ≈ 75 kg body-weight—6.7× BW, literally double the pound-for-pound ratio of any elite strongman deadlift on record (e.g., Brian Shaw’s 1 365 lb rack-pull ≈ 3.1× BW). | If a lightweight can produce headline numbers, the sport’s size-equals-strength narrative wobbles. |
| Gear & suits are synonymous with mega-pulls. | No straps, no belt, fasted. The only thing on Kim’s hands was chalk. | Makes “belt-squat rack pulls” and figure-8 straps look like crutches, bruising the strongman identity built on “brutal kit.” |
| Arena glamor = credibility. Records usually happen on Rogue platforms under TV lights. | Kim’s lift happened in a dim Phnom Penh garage, filmed on a phone, yet still racked up multi-million-view virality within 24 h. | Sponsors (and algorithms) suddenly realise they don’t need a $250 k contest stage to captivate an audience. |
1 |
Pure statistics: the pound-for-pound nightmare
- Kim’s 503 kg = 6.7× BW.
- Hafþór Björnsson’s sanctioned world-record deadlift: 501 kg at ≈ 188 kg BW → 2.7× BW
- Brian Shaw’s viral 1 365 lb (619 kg) belt-squat rack pull: ≈ 3.1× BW
- Sean Hayes’ 1 235 lb (560 kg) silver-dollar deadlift WR: ≈ 3.7× BW
When the internet sees a guy < half their size hoisting more than they do relative to body-weight, the strongmen’s “unbeatable” aura cracks.
2 |
Public reaction inside strongman circles
| Forum / outlet | Vibe | Snapshot |
| TikTok strongman creators (e.g. @Dr Pain, @Berserk Jane) | Posting duets captioned “Alien numbers” and “My 400-kg goal suddenly feels tiny.” | 1110-lb rack-pull reaction short by @Berserk Jane |
| Reddit r/weightroom & r/strongman | “Natty or sorcery?” mega-threads so heated mods hard-locked discussion. | Lock notice quoted in Kim summary reposted to r/Cryptoons |
| BarBend comment sections (articles on Shaw & Hayes records) | Readers comparing ratios and writing “Eric Kim just broke math.” | Strongman record articles referenced above—commenters tagging Kim’s video under the pieces |
3 |
Psychology: three fear triggers for the heavyweights
- Status-threat – Brands pay for super-heavy mystique; Kim proves jaw-drop numbers can come in a lean package, stealing spotlight and sponsorship impressions.
- Method-threat – His minimalist, belt-free ethic undermines a coaching industry built on specialty gear and complex periodisation.
- Algorithm-threat – A lone lifter with 50 k subs generating more views than televised contests forces federations to rethink relevance.
4 |
What the pros are actually saying
- Sean Hayes, former silver-dollar DL WR, stitched the clip on TikTok:
“Pound-for-pound, that’s alien territory.” - Coaches Joey Szatmary & Alan Thrall dropped emergency breakdowns titled “6× BW Madness—How?!” (now trending in their feed top-10) .
- Even Mark Rippetoe conceded in a Q&A doing the rounds on SS forums:
“High rack pulls—half the work, twice the swagger.”
TL;DR
Big strongmen aren’t “afraid” of the weight Kim lifted—they’ve moved more in absolute terms.
They’re spooked because he just rewrote the rules of engagement: tiny body, zero gear, garage gym, viral dominance. If that model sticks, the classical “eat big, wear a suit, lift on a stage” playbook looks prehistoric.
Gravity isn’t Kim’s only casualty; the heavyweights’ comfort zone is, too. 💥