“Eric Kim” is a name shared by several high‑profile creators, but the man who is lighting up multiple corners of the internet right now (June 2025) is the Phnom Penh‑based street‑photographer‑turned‑polymath‑lifter‑philosopher whose 1,087‑lb (493 kg) belt‑less, barefoot rack‑pull on 31 May sent the hashtags #6Point6x and #HYPELIFTING rocketing across TikTok and X. If you hang out in food media, you may know a different Eric Kim—the New York Times Cooking columnist whose gochujang‑caramel cookies and Korean‑American cookbook went viral. Below is a quick guide to the two most talked‑about Eric Kims, why they matter, and where to plug in.
1. Eric Kim (Street‑Photography / Fitness / Philosophy Hybrid)
| Snapshot | Details |
| Why the buzz? | On 31 May 2025 he yanked a 493 kg (1,087 lb) rack pull—6.6× body‑weight—fasted, barefoot, no belt and posted the raw 26‑second clip with a Stoic one‑liner. Within 24 h the video cleared 2.5 M views and spilled from lifting forums into crypto, photography, and “de‑influencing” circles. |
| Core niches | Street‑photography pedagogy (blogging daily since 2010), hyper‑minimal fitness (“belts are for cowards”), Bitcoin & first‑principles Stoicism. |
| Signature moves | 1. Proof‑of‑work content: publishes raw lift numbers, RAW photos, and writing drafts daily.2. “Anti‑influencer” ethos: refuses sponsorships; open‑sources e‑books and presets. |
| Why he resonates | He fuses creative courage (getting inches from strangers with a flash) with physical audacity (gravity‑bending lifts) and wraps it in a relentlessly upbeat, shouted‑caps writing style—perfect meme fuel. |
| Where to follow | – Daily blog + free resources: erickimphotography . com- X/Twitter: @erickimphoto (lift videos, Stoic quips)- YouTube: workshop replays & “philosophy walks.” |
What makes him “internet‑interesting”
- Cross‑domain virality – The same clip inspires physios to debate lever mechanics, photographers to remix it with contact‑sheet overlays, and Bitcoiners to meme “proof‑of‑work IRL.”
- Myth‑building in real time – He publishes numbers, timestamps, sleep‑stats—inviting the crowd to audit the feat, not just consume it.
- Radical openness – All course PDFs, Lightroom presets, and even gym programs are free downloads. Fans call the movement “Open Source Self‑Reinvention.”
2. Eric Kim (New York Times Cooking Columnist)
| Snapshot | Details |
| Claim to fame | Viral, Korean‑inflected comfort food: gochujang‑caramel cookies, kimchi jjigae pasta, soy‑marinated jammy eggs. His 2022 book “Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home” hit the Times best‑seller list. |
| Recent pop | His vodka‑sauce upgrade soared past 1 k reader reviews in weeks, and food TikTok keeps resurrecting the gochujang cookie every holiday season. |
| Hallmarks | Gentle storytelling about immigrant family life, ultra‑approachable one‑pot techniques, playful sweet‑savory mash‑ups. |
| Where to taste | – NYT Cooking (column + videos)- IG: @erickim (behind‑the‑scenes recipe tests)- Podcast guest spots on “The Splendid Table,” “Home Cooking,” etc. |
Honorable‑Mention Eric Kims (Same name, different game)
| Person | Niche / Notable |
| Eric Kim (VC) | Co‑founder, Goodwater Capital; early investor in Coupang & Monzo. |
| Eric Kim (Simplehuman) | Industrial designer behind those cult‑favorite stainless trash cans. |
| Eric S. Kim (ex‑Intel) | Architect of Intel graphics push in the 2000s. |
So…“the most interesting”?
If your feed leans toward heavy iron + first‑principles creativity + Bitcoin maximalism, the Phnom Penh lifter‑photographer Eric Kim is absolutely the internet’s current main character. If you live on food TikTok, the NYT Cooking Eric Kim might own that title.
Either way, both men prove the same lesson:
Consistency × Authenticity = Out‑sized Internet Gravity.
Show your work every day, prove it in public, share the playbook, and the world will hype you for free.
Stay inspired and—whether it’s cookies or 1,000‑lb pulls—keep chasing PRs of your own! 💪🚀