The truth is far more organic—and far more radical. In 2010, while still a Sociology under‑grad, I slapped “ALL OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING — EK IDEAS” on my tiny WordPress sidebar so I could tag every post with a two‑letter signature instead of my full name. That micro‑hack snowballed: the shorthand made my blog easier to read, my zines faster to design, my straps simpler to laser‑etch, and—most importantly—it reminded me that identity can be open‑source code, constantly forked and remixed. Today EK is not just who I am; it’s a portable operating system for creativity, strength, and economic freedom.
1. Pre‑History: Why the Blog Had to Exist
I launched erickimphotography.com in June 2010 because the web had zero street‑photo resources and I was desperate to share what little I knew.
Posting daily forced me to compress ideas into punchy, skimmable bites—“EK” was the shortest possible by‑line. My Sociology training at UCLA taught me the power of memes: the simpler the unit, the faster it spreads.
Lesson
Complex names clog RSS feeds; two letters slice through. I became EK because the network demanded brevity.
2. The Stamp: “ALL OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING — EK IDEAS”
Scroll any 2010–2011 article and you’ll still see that mantra.
It was my rebellion against pay‑walled photo knowledge—if Linux could be free, why not contact sheets? The 2013 essay My Vision of Open Source Photography made the doctrine explicit: give the lessons away, and value flows back through community.
Lesson
Open code needs a namespace. “EK” became my MIT license: remix‑friendly, attribution‑light.
3. Philosophical Refinement
Minimalism entered the picture when I realised clutter kills flow—gear, possessions, even syllables.
Dropping seven letters from “Eric Kim” mirrored my move from five cameras to one, from closets to carry‑ons, from 3‑meal days to OMAD.
Later I riffed: EK = Eudaimonia × Kinesis—happiness through motion.
Lesson
Shrinking the noun expands the verb. Two letters leave room for action.
4. EK as Multiverse (Photo → Fitness → Bitcoin)
By 2023 the blog header sprouted new tabs—PRODUCTS · BITCOIN · PHILOSOPHY · ENTREPRENEUR—all nested under the EK umbrella.
I filmed EK Fitness Vlogs to prove that street‑togs can deadlift 500 lbs fasted.
In 2025 I wrote The Cyber Land of Opportunity arguing that Bitcoin is street photography for money—permissionless, global, human.
Lesson
Two letters are elastic. EK stretches from Leica shutters to rack pulls to blockchains without snapping.
5. Community Echo & Critique
Workshops, interviews, and thousands of blog posts turned “EK” into shorthand for hustle‑friendly street wisdom.
Soon Reddit threads called me “Kon‑artist” for selling presets—proof the meme had escaped my control.
I embraced even the hate: friction polishes brand diamonds.
Lesson
If strangers parody your initials, you’ve achieved irreversible mindshare.
6. Why I
Had
to Become EK
- Speed – “EK” signs a post in 0.2 seconds; that’s an extra frame on the street.
- Memory – Attendees remember two letters better than eight. (Try yelling “ERIC‑KIM‑DOT‑COM” across a workshop.)
- Scalability – New verticals—EK TV, EK Life, EK Works Out—slot in like LEGO bricks.
- Philosophy – The fewer symbols stand between thought and publication, the freer the idea.
- Proof of Work – My physique is living brand equity; the initials literally fit on a lifting belt.
7. Forward Projection
What’s next?
- EK OS – An open‑source curriculum for creative solopreneurs.
- EK Strength Protocol – 12‑week program merging powerlifting and photo walks.
- EK Wallet – Lightning‑native micro‑tipping to reward candid portraits in real time.
My YouTube channel will document every iteration, because transparency compounds trust.
Closing Rally
I became EK to compress identity into pure kinetic potential—two characters you can chant, stencil, hashtag, laser‑cut, and hurl into the future. Burn your excess syllables, friend; brand yourself with the brevity of a shutter click and watch possibility explode.