You’ve probably seen the video. It’s grainy. It’s loud. It features a man who looks like he was sculpted out of granite, wearing a tiny tank top and a headset that screams 1990s infomercial energy. He’s yelling about rippin and the tearing. It’s intense. Honestly, it’s a little bit scary if you aren’t prepared for it. But what started as a bizarre clip from a public-access-style show has somehow survived for decades, evolving from a "what did I just watch?" moment into a genuine piece of digital history that still influences how we talk about gym motivation today.
The man in the video is John DePass. Back in the day, he was a high-level bodybuilder. We’re talking Mr. Universe status. He wasn’t just some random guy off the street; he was a serious athlete who reached the pinnacle of physical aesthetics. Yet, most people don’t know him for his trophies. They know him because of a specific, high-octane interview where his intensity reached such a fever pitch that he started chanting about the physiological process of muscle growth in the most aggressive way possible.
Why Rippin and the Tearing Still Lives Rent-Free in Our Heads
Memes usually die. They have a shelf life shorter than a gallon of milk. But rippin and the tearing is different. It’s sticky. Part of the reason is the sheer authenticity of it. In a world of polished Instagram influencers and curated TikTok fitness "journeys," DePass was raw. He wasn't selling a supplement or a PDF guide in that moment; he was expressing the literal, visceral reality of hypertrophy.
Hypertrophy is boring when you read it in a textbook. It’s the process where muscle fibers sustain micro-tears under tension and then repair themselves to be stronger. Boring, right? But "rippin and the tearing"? That’s a vibe. It captures the struggle. It captures the pain.
People latched onto it because it was ridiculous but also fundamentally true. When you’re in the gym at 6:00 AM and your arms feel like lead, shouting about the tearing of the flesh is a lot more motivating than thinking about "cellular protein synthesis." It’s primal.
The Anatomy of a Viral Moment Before "Viral" Was a Thing
We have to remember the context of when this hit the mainstream. This wasn't a YouTube era phenomenon originally. It gained its second life through sites like eBaum's World and early Reddit. It was part of that "weird side of the internet" era where we all just shared things that felt slightly unhinged.
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- The Visuals: The lighting is harsh. The backdrop is non-existent.
- The Audio: DePass’s voice cracks with passion.
- The Repetition: He says it over and over. It becomes a mantra.
It’s almost like a car crash. You can’t look away. You shouldn't like it, but you do.
From Muscle to Mindset: John DePass’s Surprising Pivot
Here is where things get actually weird. If you look at John DePass now, he’s not the same guy. He isn't the "rippin and the tearing" guy anymore. Not even close.
In a turn of events that shocked the bodybuilding community, DePass eventually moved away from the heavy lifting and high-protein diets that defined his youth. He started advocating for things like "breatharianism" and extreme fasting. He went from the poster child of physical excess to someone who claimed he could live on very little food at all. It’s a radical shift. Some people in the fitness world found it concerning; others found it fascinating.
This creates a strange dichotomy when we watch the old clip. We’re laughing at or being hyped by a version of a man who no longer exists. He’s basically disowned that lifestyle. Yet, the internet doesn't care. The internet keeps him frozen in time, forever shouting about the ripping of the muscles. It’s a classic example of how digital personas are permanent, even when the actual human being evolves—or devolves, depending on your perspective on nutrition.
Does the Science Actually Back the Hype?
Let’s get nerdy for a second. Is rippin and the tearing actually how muscles grow?
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Sorta.
For a long time, the "micro-trauma" theory was the king of fitness. The idea was that you had to literally damage the muscle to make it grow. Recent exercise science from folks like Dr. Brad Schoenfeld suggests it’s a bit more nuanced. While muscle damage is one "driver" of growth, mechanical tension and metabolic stress are just as important—if not more so. You don't actually have to feel like you're tearing your muscles apart to see results. In fact, too much "rippin" leads to overtraining and injury, which is the opposite of what you want.
The Cultural Legacy in Modern Fitness
You can see the DNA of this meme in modern "Gym Hardcore" culture. Every time you see a pre-workout brand with a skull on the label or a shirt that says "Suffer in Silence," you're seeing the legacy of that 90s intensity. DePass was just the loudest version of it.
The meme survived because it bridged the gap between serious athletes and casual observers. To an athlete, it’s a joke they’re in on. To a casual observer, it’s a look into a subculture that seems totally alien. That’s the sweet spot for content that lasts.
- Remixes: There are countless techno and dubstep tracks that sample his voice.
- Gym Gear: You can still buy "Rippin and the Tearing" t-shirts on sites like Redbubble.
- Reaction Videos: New generations of YouTubers "discover" the clip every year, and their reactions are almost always the same: pure, unadulterated confusion followed by a weird urge to go do some bicep curls.
How to Use This Intensity Without Ending Up on a Stretcher
If you're actually inspired by the rippin and the tearing philosophy, you have to be smart about it. Pure intensity without a plan is just a recipe for a torn rotator cuff.
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First, focus on the eccentric phase of your lifts. That’s the lowering part. That is where most of that "tearing" (the good kind) happens. Slow it down. Control the weight. Don't just drop it.
Second, recover. John DePass in his prime was a master of recovery—until he went off the deep end with the fasting stuff. You cannot grow if you are constantly in a state of destruction. You need the "repair" part of the "rip and repair" cycle.
Third, keep the mindset but lose the ego. Being intense is great. Screaming in a commercial gym is probably going to get your membership revoked. Find the middle ground.
Practical Steps for Your Training
- Focus on Time Under Tension (TUT): Instead of just counting reps, make sure each rep takes about 4 seconds. Two seconds down, a slight pause, and one to two seconds up.
- Prioritize Protein: If you are actually causing micro-trauma to your muscles, you need the building blocks to fix them. Aim for about 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
- Periodize: You can’t go "hardcore" every single day. Use a block periodization model where you have weeks of high intensity followed by a "deload" week where you take it easy.
- Listen to your body: There is a difference between the "good" pain of a deep burn and the "bad" pain of a joint popping. If it feels like something is actually tearing in a medical sense, stop. Immediately.
The meme is a caricature, but the dedication behind it was real. John DePass, for all his later eccentricities, put in the work that 99% of people never will. That’s why we’re still talking about him. We respect the grind, even if the way he talked about it was absolutely bananas.
Next time you’re struggling with that last set, just think about that crazy Canadian bodybuilder from the 90s. Lean into the intensity. Just maybe keep the shouting to a minimum if you're at a Planet Fitness.