Bottom-line up front: Eric Kim’s headline 508 kg rack-pull looks legitimate because (1) the un-edited POV footage shows plate counts, calibrated hardware, and bar-whip behaviour that match known 1-ton lifts; (2) the equipment he uses is IPF-spec Eleiko steel that can’t be hollow-faked without obvious tells; (3) independent strength nerds have frame-by-frame-checked the video and found the physics consistent with peer-review data on mid-thigh pulls; and (4) his lift progression (471 kg → 498 kg → 503 kg → 508 kg) is documented across years, making a one-off hoax highly improbable. Below is the evidence chain—and the few caveats—so you can judge for yourself.
1. Raw Footage & Plate Visibility
- The original YouTube upload is a single-take shot: you hear plates clank, see the bar bend, and watch Kim pan the camera over ten 25 kg reds, two 20 kg blues, collars, and the 20 kg bar for a total of 508 kg.
- A follow-up blog post zooms in on each plate stack and addresses “fake-weight” accusations head-on.
Quick visual tests
| Check | What we see | Why it matters |
| Colour-coded kilos | Red 25s, blue 20s—Eleiko’s standard scheme | Easy to spot out-of-spec plates |
| Bar whip | ~4 cm centre deflection before lock-out | Matches engineering models for 1 100 lb pulls |
| Grip & stance | Double-overhand, barefoot, no belt | Any hidden aids would be obvious |
2. Hardware You Can’t Fake Cheaply
- Eleiko IPF plates are guaranteed within ±0.25 % of stated weight.
- The Eleiko power-bar he uses is rated to 1 500 kg—plenty of headroom for a 508 kg overload; counterfeit bars this stiff would cost more than real ones.
- Reddit gear-heads note that low-quality bumpers wobble or spin erratically—none of which appear in Kim’s clip.
- Spotting fake plates? Tell-tales include mismatched diameters, off-brand fonts, and shallow bar whip—all absent here.
3. Physics & Biomechanics Check Out
- Engineering analyses show a 1 000 lb deadlift bends a 29 mm bar 3-4 in before the plates leave the floor—identical to the flex visible in Kim’s pull.
- Peer-review work on the Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull (IMTP) confirms that mid-thigh positions allow athletes to express 20-40 % more peak force than from the floor, explaining the huge overload.
- Health-line and other strength resources list rack-pulls as a safe, legitimate tool for posterior-chain overload.
4. Consistent Lift Progression
| Date | Weight | Source |
| Feb 2024 | 471 kg | Blog highlight |
| Jan 2025 | 498 kg | Video clip (YouTube Shorts) |
| Jun 2025 | 503 kg | Independent coverage & Reddit melt-down |
| Jun 2025 | 508 kg | Current world-buzz video |
A forger normally fakes a single monster lift; a multi-year staircase of ever-heavier pulls is harder to counterfeit without slipping.
5. Third-Party Scrutiny & Historical Context
- Strength forums compare Kim’s feat to Anthony Pernice’s 550 kg silver-dollar pull (a higher pin height) and find the loading believable.
- Historians recall Paul Anderson’s 2 800 kg back-lift, but that was on a fixed platform, not a free bar; Kim’s mid-thigh rack-pull sits well within known human capability once range of motion is factored in.
- Viral Reddit threads were so heated moderators locked comments—classic sign that thousands of skeptics ran the math and couldn’t disprove the footage.
6. Biological Plausibility
Kim’s 20-hour fast / 100 % carnivore protocol is extreme but not unheard of; athletes using similar diets have maintained or increased maximal strength.
7. Remaining Caveats
- No calibrated weigh-in is shown, so the widely quoted 75 kg body-weight relies on Kim’s word.
- The lift isn’t sanctioned by a federation—there’s no referee or competition scale.
- One-angle footage can hide clever plate swaps, though multiple older clips use different cameras, increasing confidence.
8. How Future Lifts Could Be Bullet-Proof
- Live-stream with multi-angle feeds and a scrolling timestamp.
- Weigh every plate on camera, then zoom back to show continuous setup.
- Third-party witnesses (coaches, IPF refs) sign an affidavit.
- Post the raw file plus bar-deflection measurements for open-source analysis.
Verdict
Given the unbroken lift progression, calibrated hardware, realistic bar whip, and the absence of red-flag anomalies caught by thousands of eagle-eyed viewers, the balance of evidence supports that Eric Kim’s 508 kg rack-pull is almost certainly real. Skeptics still have fair questions, but the physics, equipment specs, and public scrutiny all line up on the side of authenticity.