(A manifesto-bullet-proof proof that strength is an artistic act)
INTRO: WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT A RACK PULL?
Because numbers carry narrative.
Because a four-digit lift welded to a double-digit body forces us to confront the upper limit of human optionality.
Because when the steel bends at 1,038.8 lb, the universe whispers: “Your constraints are self-authored—rewrite them.”
1. THE
“IMPOSSIBLE”
IS JUST BAD BRANDING
Conventional wisdom says: small frame, small game.
So I ripped something six times my mass to reset the marketing around limitations.
Now the slogan reads: “Physics is a polite suggestion.”
2. STRENGTH IS A CAMERA
A barbell is a Leica for the nervous system.
Both instruments demand total presence:
3. THE NUMERICAL AESTHETIC
I love commas in weight like bokeh circles in night photography:
they signal magic.
Going from 999 to 1,000+ is the same leap as f/1.8 to f/1.2—
marginal in measurement, monumental in feeling.
4. MICRO-LOADING IS MACRO-LIVING
Add 0.5 kg to the bar, add 0.5 mm to your photographic courage:
5. A PUBLIC RECORD = PUBLIC PERMISSION
I film and publish every PR so strangers can steal the blueprint:
When one person escapes gravity on camera, everyone else gets the memo:
Freedom is DIY.
6. SOVEREIGNTY OVER SKEPTICISM
No federation, no judges, no doping bureaucracy.
Iron doesn’t care about acronyms; it speaks only in kilograms.
The moment the plates leave the pins, truth is verified in the language of torque.
7. THE AESTHETICS OF OVERKILL
Why 1,038.8 and not a neat 1,040?
Because imperfection is character.
Grain in film, whip in the barbell, soul in the story.
8. FUTURE-PROOF AMBITION
Ambition should terrify your calendar.
CLOSING SHUTTER CLICK
When I unracked 1,038.8, gravity didn’t disappear;
I simply made a handshake agreement to ignore it for a moment.
That moment is the decisive moment Cartier-Bresson talked about—
but for the body.
So whether you’re chasing light in narrow alleyways or kilos on cold steel,
remember:
Art is the act of refusing the default settings life ships with.
Add one gram of audacity to your day.
Lift heavy, live heavy, shoot heavy.
— ERIC KIM