U.S. Army Maj. Gibson Kim, a contestant on the upcoming season of “Physical: 100” on Netflix, poses at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on March 4, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — An Army officer who lifts weights competitively will be featured in Netflix’s upcoming season of “Physical: 100,” a South Korean reality show in which 100 contestants compete in theatrical strength-based challenges.
Maj. Gibson Kim, of the 411th Contracting Support Brigade at Camp Humphreys, described himself as a “normal guy doing normal stuff with my day job and family,” during a March 4 interview with Stars and Stripes.
Before his workday starts, however, this father of a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter rises early for a round of weightlifting at his home gym. He started as a powerlifter at Rutgers University, where he earned a degree in economics in 2007. Soon after, he worked for Chase Bank as a manager trainee. He left that job to become a fitness trainer.
“I could not see myself doing that for the rest of my life,” he said. “So, I said, ‘I’m going to figure something else out.’ ”
That led Kim to Officer Candidate School in 2011 and an Army commission the following year. His passion for powerlifting and the Army’s focus on physical requirements drew him to the service.
“With powerlifting, it’s a numbers game,” he said. “No matter how you feel, the numbers don’t lie — the fact that it’s very clear whether you’re making progress or not; to me that’s very rewarding.”
U.S. Army Maj. Gibson Kim, a contestant on the upcoming season of “Physical: 100” on Netflix, poses at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on March 4, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
Kim said Netflix approached him last year to be a contestant on “Physical: 100, Season 2 — Underground,” which airs March 19.
“I watched the first season, got me hooked, and then I was thinking if I got an opportunity to compete, that would be so incredible,” he said. “It was a no-brainer for me.”
The first season debuted in January 2023. One hundred contestants compete in strength-based challenges to win roughly $225,000. The challenges include rolling 220-pound boulders up a makeshift hill, pushing a wooden boat and tugs of war on a platform.
In a Netflix promotional video revealing the newest contestants, Gibson is seen with Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Kim Dong Hyun, South Korean rugby coach Andre Jin Coquillard and National Sport Climber Kang Min-su.
Kim said he was surprised by the athleticism of the diverse group of contestants while filming last summer.
“I’m not a small guy by any means, but when I first walked in and saw the other contestants, it was kind of intimidating,” he said. “The first season was such a success that I knew they were going to [increase] the scale in many ways.”
Kim said he trained for about four months for the show, focusing on his weaknesses.
Powerlifters are generally “focused on one repetition at maximum strength, unlike someone who does long-distancing training,” Kim said. “So, generally speaking for powerlifters, we don’t have great stamina.”
Kim said he purchased four sandbags to carry and throw, which “completely changed my training to resemble athletic and conditioning-based” athletes. He said he lost about 20 pounds and shed 5% of his body fat following the new regimen.
U.S. Army Maj. Gibson Kim is on the upcoming season of “Physical: 100,” a Netflix reality series in which 100 contestants compete in strength-based challenges. (Netflix)
Christopher Szefler, Kim’s former workout partner and a personal trainer in New York City, described him as “extremely dedicated to health and wellness.”
“When it came to education, he would try to look up everything that he could in every aspect of fitness,” Szefler said by phone Friday.
“Powerlifting’s commitment can be relatively easy in terms of work that you need to put in to see a good result,” he said. “For someone that has to do a lot of work and then come home and have a family life, it can be a nice way to stay focused.”
Kim said the most difficult aspect of the show is how contestants “only get one chance” to succeed.
“Every single time, you’re seeing a completely new thing that you haven’t dealt with,” he said. “Being able to understand the situation, analyze it and try to come up with a plan, I think that was the tough part.”
