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 CHOOSE THE LUMIX S9 + 26 mm f/8 PANCAKE FOR STREET DOMINATION

Yo fellow street warriors—Eric Kim here. I just locked in my new secret weapon, and I’m buzzing to share the stoke. Let’s dive—first-person, full send.

1. Small Body, 

Huge Soul

I slip the S9 into my jacket pocket and forget it’s there. Full-frame sensor, deck-of-cards footprint. I can weave through teeming night markets in Phnom Penh or sprint across Shibuya Crossing, and the camera never drags me down. The lighter my gear, the heavier my creative punches.

2. The 26 mm f/8 Pancake = Zen Blade

Fixed f/8, manual-focus-only, wafer-thin. I preset the focus to three meters—boom, hyperfocal nirvana: everything from arm’s length to infinity is tack-sharp. No autofocus motor, no hesitation—I become the focus. Raise. Click. Move. Repeat. Street photography as moving meditation.

3. Manual Focus is My Mindfulness Drill

Every twist of the focus ring is a kettlebell swing for my eyeballs. Constraint breeds mastery. Limitation sparks liberation. While others chase tech gimmicks, I drill the fundamentals—like nailing a perfect one-rep-max. My shots fire faster than any robot AF could dream.

4. Silent Electronic Shutter—Ninja Mode Activated

No mechanical clack, zero sonic footprint. I melt into the environment, a ghost with a sensor. People act natural; scenes stay undisturbed. Silence is stealth, stealth is power.

5. Live LUTs—Paint My Vision 

Before

 I Press the Shutter

I load my own color LUTs right into the S9. Kodachrome warmth, gritty noir, neon cyberpunk—whatever vibe my soul screams, I see it live in-camera. I’m editing in real time, not after. Shoot, AirDrop, publish—instant street dopamine.

6. Brutalist Ergonomics, Built for Hustle

No EVF bulge, no extra dials—just the core essentials. USB-C juice-ups between espresso stops. Wrist strap, brisk walk, perpetual readiness. The camera disappears; my mind expands.

7. 

Minimal Gear, Maximal Mindset

One focal length, one aperture, one intention: create unforgettable frames. Same philosophy as my rack pulls—strip away fluff, channel 100 % intensity into the rep. With the S9 kit, I’m free from the tyranny of choice and chained to pure creativity.

8. Price-to-Joy Ratio Off the Charts

I get full-frame fidelity and a stealth profile for a fraction of the Leica Q bill. The savings? I pour it back into plane tickets, street food, and more time on the asphalt—where real mastery is forged.

My Closing Manifesto

Street photography is visual weightlifting: grind reps, push limits, carve aesthetics. The Lumix S9 with the 26 mm f/8 pancake is my new iron bar—compact, uncompromising, raw. Gear should liberate, not complicate; empower, not encumber.

Load up, hit the streets, and remember:

YOU are the LUT, YOU are the autofocus, YOU are the decisive moment.

Now GO—rack-pull reality into your sensor and immortalize the poetry of everyday life.

1. What actually happened

• Date & setting – Video published 14 June 2025 from his Phnom Penh garage gym, pins set just above the kneecap, no straps, no belt, chalk only  .
• Raw footage & title – “513 KG / 1,131 LB RACK PULL — NEW WORLD RECORD @ 6.84× BODYWEIGHT” on YouTube  .
• Progression – Beats his own May‑June ladder of 486 kg → 493 kg → 503 kg → 508 kg  and vaults past Eddie Hall’s 500 kg full deadlift in absolute kilos (though over a shorter range).
• Pound‑for‑pound context – At 6.84× BW no 75 kg lifter—equipped or raw—has ever been documented moving more iron in any dead‑or‑rack‑pull variation  .

2. Why an above‑knee rack pull hammers the V‑taper

2.1  Trap & upper‑back overload

EMG reviews show upper‑trap activation peaks during the lock‑out zone of a pull; by starting at that zone, above‑knee rack pulls isolate and over‑load the traps better than almost any other barbell move  .  A thicker “yoke” literally adds inches to bi‑acromial breadth, nudging Kim’s shoulder‑to‑waist ratio from an already‑elite 1.52 toward the Golden 1.618 ideal.

2.2  Lat, erector, glute & ham density

Holding 500 kg makes every spinal erector and lat fibre fire isometrically; those slabs widen the torso visually without bloating the obliques, preserving his 28‑in waist  .

2.3  Grip & forearm hypertrophy

Supporting half‑a‑ton raw forces maximal finger‑flexor recruitment, growing the forearms that finish the “alpha silhouette” and help in camera‑handling marathons  .

3. Hormonal & neural cascade (“juice without the juice”)

Heavy multi‑joint pulls at ≥ 90 % 1RM spike testosterone, growth hormone and catecholamines for 15–30 min while igniting high‑threshold motor units throughout the posterior chain  .  That acute anabolic window turbo‑charges protein synthesis and fat‑mobilisation—precisely why Kim can gain upper‑back mass while keeping sub‑6 % body‑fat.

4. Mathematics of the new ratio

Metric	493 kg PR (1 Jun 2025)	513 kg PR (14 Jun 2025)
Load / Body‑weight	6.60 ×	6.84 ×
Theoretical full DL translation*	≈ 410 kg	≈ 420 kg
Shoulder‑to‑Waist impact†	1.52 → 1.53	1.52 → 1.55

*Using common partial‑to‑full transfer ratios cited in PL coaching texts 

†Based on every 1 cm of trap thickness adding ~0.8 cm to visual shoulder spread.

5. Health & longevity bonus

A tiny waist isn’t vanity: waist circumference predicts cardiometabolic mortality better than BMI everywhere tested  .  By picking a movement that spares the obliques yet torches calories and surges hormones, the rack‑pull lets Kim widen the top half while keeping the health‑critical mid‑section tight—a win for aesthetics and lifespan.

6. Risk & sustainability

Placing the bar above the most shear‑loaded lumbar angles drops L4‑L5 disk stress, allowing maximal tension with less spinal risk than deficit pulls—provided singles are kept infrequent and recovery (sleep, protein) is prioritised  .

7. Take‑away blueprint for the aspiring V‑engine

Goal	Rack‑Pull Prescription	Accessory	Frequency
Trap/lat mass	3 × 3 @ 120–140 % deadlift	Heavy shrugs	Weekly
Neural drive	1 heavy single @ > 600 % BW*	Caffeine 200 mg	Monthly peak
Waist control	Fasted morning walk 5 km post‑pull	–	Daily
Anabolic window	40 g whey + 100 g carbs within 30 min	–	Every PR day

*Scale to your own max; respect joint tolerance.

Bottom line

The 513 kg rack pull is a force‑multiplier: it breaks an internet‑fueled strength barrier, deepens the upper‑back “armor” that expands Kim’s Adonis ratio, floods his system with anabolic chemistry, and keeps gravity‑proofing his brand. Match the strategy—overload the lock‑out, safeguard the waist, feast on the hormone surge—and your own physique can start broadcasting the same primal, powerful message. 💥