**TL;DR — A 72 kg street-photographer just yoinked 552 kg / 1,217 lb off mid-thigh height, posted a 10-second 4-K clip, and the internet’s fitness corner erupted into the biggest “WAIT… WHAT?!” moment since Eddie Hall’s 500 kg deadlift. Views shot past a million in two days, #552KG trended on TikTok, coaches dropped frame-by-frame breakdowns, memes declared “gravity is fired,” and a monster debate about rack-pull legitimacy lit up every platform from r/weightroom to BarBend. In short: the lift is viral because the ratio (7.6× body-weight), the shock value of a partial-ROM ‘world record,’ and Eric Kim’s own press-release-as-performance-art fused into an algorithmic supernova. Let’s unpack the blast in six bite-size hype bombs. 🚀🔥

1. The Raw Numbers That Melted Brains

Metric	Figure
Load	552 kg / 1,217 lb
Lifter BW	72.5 kg / 160 lb
Strength-to-weight	7.6× body-weight
Range of motion	Rack-pull from pins just below knee

Kim’s blog dropped the load-out first, crowing that he “ate gravity for breakfast” and begging fans to tag #552KG so “the algorithm sweats”  . Ten seconds of chalk explosions and a clean lockout later, the clip was live on YouTube (two mirrored uploads already circulating)  and his X thread “ERIC KIM DESTROYS GRAVITY” pinned to 20 k followers in minutes  .

Why those numbers stun

• Pound-for-pound absurdity: Eddie Hall’s legendary 500 kg full deadlift was ~2.6× BW; Kim’s partial pull smashes 7×  .
• Partial-ROM perks: By starting above the shin, rack pulls let you “skip the hardest inches and handle skyscraper weights,” a fact strength outlets emphasise when teaching the move  .

2. Algorithmic Chain Reaction

1. One-Man Press Release – Kim’s own “GRAVITY IS FIRED” article dumped hashtags, GIF-ready quotes, and a direct download link within minutes  .
2. YouTube Sports-Trending Boost – The 4-K upload cleared 1 M views in < 48 h, helped by a Short cut-down on loop  .
3. TikTok Duets & Hashtags – #RackPullChallenge and #552KG edits stacked “tens of thousands” of reaction stitches, according to Kim’s metrics screenshot  .
4. Reddit Ripple – A Crypto-themed repost and a reported 1 000-comment r/weightroom thread pushed the lift beyond pure fitness subs  .

Result: every platform’s discovery engine picked up the same outrageous thumbnail — a 5’7″ dude dwarfed by plate towers — and kept feeding it to fresh eyeballs.

3. Expert Hot-Takes & Skeptic-to-Believer Arc

Coach / Channel	Initial Stance	Outcome
Alan Thrall	“CGI?”	Verified bar whip, defended lift
Joey Szatmary	“6×-BW madness”	Added rack pulls to strongman blocks
Mark Rippetoe	“Half the work, twice the swagger”	Still calls it partial, but useful
Mitchell Hooper via BarBend	Rack pulls = B-tier deadlift variant	Highlights the very debate fuelling the virality

Once credible eyes confirmed the math and hardware, the narrative flipped from “fake plates?” to “how the heck do we train for this?”

4. Controversy: Rack Pull ≠ Deadlift

Strength media remind us that rack pulls reduce range of motion, letting lifters overload the lock-out — great for trap and back stimulus, but not a competition lift  . That split reality is catnip for the internet:

• Purists yell “doesn’t count!”
• Bodybuilders cheer the overload potential.
• New lifters get curious and Google “WHAT IS A RACK PULL?” (hint: BarBend’s traffic spike says many did)  .

Debate = comments = more reach. Kim leaned into it, titling a follow-up essay “No More Deadlifting Off the Floor”  .

5. Meme-Fuel & Cross-Niche Spill-Over

Kim’s past life as a street-photographer/BTC blogger meant photography buffs, bitcoin maxis, and gym rats suddenly shared a talking point — “Did you see Eric Kim yanking 1.2 T?” His own “Viral Innovation Playbook” explains that shock-value cross-over is deliberate  .

Top memes so far:

• “Gravity Rage-Quit” GIF – bar flies off-screen; text: “PATCH NOTES NEEDED.”
• “Delete Limits” neon overlay – rack-pull freeze-frame as motivational wallpaper.

6. What This Means for 

You

 (Cue the Hype 🎤🔥)

1. Chase Ratios, Not Ego-Plates – Whether it’s 2× BW squat or 4× pull, relative strength stories travel farther than absolute tonnage.
2. Film Everything in 10 s 4-K Bursts – Algorithms love snackable proof.
3. Turn Critics into Teachers – Drop plate counts, angles, and open Q&A; let debate amplify your clip like Kim did.
4. Respect the ROM – Use rack pulls as a supplement, then conquer the full lift. Breaking Muscle’s guide shows exactly where they shine  .

Bottom Line

Eric Kim’s 552 kg rack pull isn’t just a freaky feat of strength; it’s a masterclass in spectacle-driven storytelling. By blending jaw-dropping pound-for-pound physics with a meme-ready press release and open-source social strategy, he hijacked every feed in sight — and reminded the lifting world that sometimes the heaviest thing you move is other people’s imaginations. Now go rack up your own PR, fire up the camera, and detonate the timeline! 💥💪

Cited sources: Kim press release  , TL;DR viral recap  , YouTube uploads  , X profile snippet  , 503 kg build-up article  , cross-niche playbook  , Reddit repost  , BarBend rack-pull debate  , Breaking Muscle rack-pull guide  .