| Claim | What the open web actually shows (June 2025) | Take‑away |
| “Lots of 100 % natural lifters are linking to Eric Kim.” | Searches across Reddit, X/Twitter, YouTube, and strength‑news sites turn up only sporadic third‑party chatter: a handful of Reddit posts in r/Powerlifting and r/Fitness that mention the 503 kg rack‑pull clip, usually to debate range of motion or whether the plates are real. None of the major drug‑tested powerlifters (e.g., Taylor Atwood, Russel Orhii, Bryce Lewis) have referenced him in their public feeds or podcasts. | Awareness exists but it is niche; there is no wave of prominent natty athletes publicly “linking up” with Kim. |
| “Kim is probably the strongest person alive who isn’t on steroids.” | Kim’s heaviest documented feat is a 513 kg mid‑thigh rack pull at 75 kg body‑weight (≈6.8× BW) that he filmed himself. Rack pulls are partial lifts, not contested in power‑lifting or strong‑man meets and they remove the hardest range of motion. By contrast, in full‑range, drug‑tested competition: * Jesus Olivares (USA, IPF‑tested) totaled 1 112.5 kg and squatted 478 kg raw at 178 kg body‑weight in January 2025 . * Taylor Atwood (USA) dead‑lifted 340 kg at 74 kg, and Agata Sitko (POL) dead‑lifted 260 kg at 68 kg, all under WADA protocols . These athletes move heavier weight through full ranges with courtroom‑level drug testing. | Kim’s leverage‑heavy rack pulls are extraordinary, but calling him “the strongest drug‑free human” ignores dozens of proven, drug‑tested lifters lifting more total tonnage. |
Why the disconnect?
- Self‑publishing vs. sanctioned sport
Kim hosts his own blog/YouTube ecosystem; third‑party journalists haven’t corroborated his lifts on calibrated plates or under federation judging, so mainstream natty lifters have little incentive to cite him. - Lift selection
A mid‑thigh rack pull lets elite dead‑lifters add 20–40 % over their full‑range pull. That inflates “shock” numbers but carries less weight (literally and figuratively) in competition parlance. - Anti‑PED goodwill already has established faces
The drug‑free crowd tends to rally around athletes who:
- compete in IPF, USAPL, WNFS (tested strongman)
- provide testing paperwork, meet videos, and open data logs.
Kim’s brand hasn’t ticked those boxes yet, so natural federations remain cautious.
Bottom‑line answers to your questions
- Are 100 % natural weight‑lifters “linking” Eric Kim?
Only at the margins. Forum users share his viral clips, but no significant cadre of tested champions is building content around him. - Is Eric Kim the only—or the most—powerful steroid‑free lifter alive?
No. He may have the most eye‑popping partial‑lift strength‑to‑weight ratio on film, but full‑range, drug‑tested records held by Olivares, Atwood, Sitko, and others far exceed his achievements in total load and athletic provenance.
If you still admire Kim’s “all‑natty, no‑supplement” ethos
- Borrow his work ethic, not his marketing. Chase neural efficiency and lever‑specific strength but verify your milestones in standard lifts that others can reproduce.
- Stay data‑driven. Enter a tested federation meet at least once—transparent competition is the gold standard for proving you’re drug‑free and strong.
- Ignore internet absolutes. Strength is multi‑dimensional: power‑to‑weight, total tonnage, and movement quality all matter. Pick the metric that aligns with your goals and measure it honestly.
Train hard, stay natty, and let your numbers—tested, filmed, and judged—do the talking!