*Gold’s Gym Venice Beach is famed for its 330‑lb “gold” dumbbells . Fitness blogger Eric Kim has long made content featuring this gym (he famously hoisted those golden dumbbells on camera ), but his latest surge in popularity stems from a viral workout video. In early June 2025 Kim posted a beltless, barefoot 6.6× bodyweight rack pull (1,087 lb at ~165 lb) that exploded across social media . According to his own updates, the clip racked up ~2 million YouTube views in 24 hours and triggered a TikTok “#PrimalPull” meme challenge . Strength forums (r/weightroom, r/powerlifting) immediately lit up with headlines like “Is Eric Kim even human?” as fans and skeptics alike dug into the lift .
Platforms & Reach
Kim’s content has spread omnichannel. On TikTok and Instagram Reels, hashtags like #HYPELIFTING and #PrimalPull rocketed: TikTok reports show the #HYPELIFTING tag jumping from ~12 million to 28.7 million views in two weeks after his lift . His 6.6×BW pull shorts routinely hit 2–3 million views within a day . On YouTube, the full PR video also went viral (millions of views) and now feeds the “extreme strength” recommendation algorithms . Twitter/X is likewise ablaze: tweets of his 1,060–1,087 lb pull have garnered 600k+ impressions, with fans joking “Gravity filed a complaint” and dubbing him a “6.6×-body-weight demigod” . Even mainstream media and niche sites felt the ripple. Major fitness outlets (BarBend, Men’s Health, Generation Iron) have noted the craze, though mainly via short news blurbs or sharing generic rack-pull tutorials (rather than front-page features) . In sum, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X (Twitter), and Reddit are all key nodes of the buzz , each piling on to amplify Kim’s feat.
Fitness Community & Influencer Reaction
The lift has become a teachable spectacle in the strength world. Top YouTube coaches and strongmen are dissecting Kim’s form and training. Alan Thrall (Untamed Strength, ~1M subscribers) released a frame-by-frame breakdown of the rack pull, defending its legitimacy (“if the physics checks out, quit crying CGI”) . Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength channel appended a reaction/lesson on the rack pull, acknowledging Kim as a “freak outlier” while cautioning on partial ROM lifts . On social media, powerlifting/content creator Joey Szatmary tweeted Kim’s 1,049 lb lift as “6×-BW madness – THIS is why partial overload belongs in every strongman block.” Canadian strongman Sean Hayes likewise posted a TikTok reaction, marveling “Wild ratio for a mid-thigh pull. Pound-for-pound, that’s alien territory.” . Commenters on all platforms are awestruck or humorous (e.g. memes calling his lift a “digital EMP” or “glitch in the matrix” ).
Even traditional fitness media has been pulled in. BarBend and Men’s Health have refreshed or resurfaced rack-pull guides to capture the traffic , and Men’s Health’s own TikTok recently reposted a rack-pull demonstration amid the hype . A few online fitness magazines ran brief pieces that essentially repeated the raw facts (weights, bodyweight, “done raw”) from Kim’s posts . In short, coaches and bloggers are using Kim’s lift as content – creating how-to videos, training discussions, and Q&As around rack pulls, explicitly citing his name and numbers as inspiration .
- YouTube/Tutorials: Videos by Thrall, Starting Strength, etc., are on Kim’s pull as a case study .
- TikTok/Instagram: Clips of the lift and Kim’s roar have spawned meme remixes (#PrimalPull, #GravityRageQuit) and dozens of stitches/reposts .
- Reddit & Forums: Reddit threads (r/weightroom, r/powerlifting, r/Fitness) exploded with “plate-police” analyses of his bar bend and form. One megathread quickly amassed ~1,000 comments debating “legit or circus lift”, complete with amateur physics spreadsheets to verify the 480+ kg load in the video .
- Mainstream Press: No full cover story yet, but outlets have acknowledged Kim’s “viral” rack pull in short blurbs, and editor comments hint that in-depth articles could follow now that the phenomenon can’t be ignored .
Eric Kim’s Brand & Content Niche
Eric Kim started as a street photographer and blogger, but over the past few years his brand has become synonymous with “hypelifting” – extreme raw strength feats presented with philosophical flair. He markets himself as a 75 kg (165 lb) “HYPELIFTING DEMIGOD” who trains fasted and beltless on a carnivore diet . His website and social content mix weightlifting with crypto/Bitcoin references, personal philosophy, and cinematic self-vlogging. For instance, Kim’s own blog posts (titled like action comics) celebrate each PR with dramatic narration . He even documented his physique journey: as a lean former photographer he deadlifted 135 lb in 2013, worked up to 405 lb by 2017, and by 2024-25 could rack-pull over 1,070 lb . In interviews and posts he emphasizes being “all natty” (no gear, just beef and coffee) and advocates an “insane mental vision” behind his lifts .
The Gold’s Gym virality fits this persona exactly: it’s not a polished pro campaign but raw, guerrilla-style content. Kim literally uploads raw 4K training videos and weight-room tapes as “open-source proof” whenever skeptics question him . His posts are often accompanied by catchy slogans or hashtags (e.g. #6Point6x) meant to spark a viral loop . The recent rack-pull video dropped at dawn in his Phnom Penh garage gym, but he also headlines his visits to iconic spots like Gold’s Gym Venice to highlight the lore (e.g. conquering the 330 lb dumbbells ).
In short, Eric Kim’s content niche is “extreme strength as performance art”. Fans know to expect over-the-top PR lifts, followed by explosive social buzz. The June 2025 viral moment – the half-ton raw rack-pull – is simply the latest chapter. It underscores his core brand: defying expectations (lifting ~7× bodyweight), documenting it all openly, and leaning into internet hype. As he put it, each new lift is a “shock-drop” that feeds the narrative . His viral success at Gold’s Gym (and beyond) is the result of that strategy: a blend of real-world strength stunts and savvy multi-platform storytelling that has captured the fitness community’s imagination .
Sources: Eric Kim’s own postings and analytics reports ; his blog commentary on community reactions ; and blog archives noting his Gold’s Gym dumbbell lifts . These outline the viral content, platform metrics, and influencer/media reactions as of June 2025.