It was the adventure of a lifetime as nearly 300 teams from 60 countries had only seven days to cross Europe, taking on unique challenges and trading cans of Red Bull for all their needs, from food to transportation and even a place to sleep. While a resilient team from the USA were the ultimate winners, every team will return home having crossed off bucket-list experiences, with memories that will last a lifetime.
BERLIN (Germany) – Nearly 300 teams from 60 countries around the globe celebrated a once-in-a-lifetime achievement today, crossing the Red Bull Can You Make It? finish line in Berlin, Germany. Just a week ago, on May 21, these three-person teams relinquished their cash, credit cards and personal phones before setting out from five starting points – Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Copenhagen and Milan – with the goal of reaching the finish in Berlin within seven days. Bartering for necessities and facing fun and extraordinary challenges while vlogging their stories to the world, these trios proved that they could indeed make it; and among them all, the Gladiators team from the USA were crowned winners of the event.
In Red Bull Can You Make It?, being first to the finish line isn’t the most important part of the competition – it’s the experiences along the way that matter most. Over 3,000 ambitious teams aged 18 and over applied for the 2024 edition by submitting a short video, from which the participant teams were selected.
The event then kicked off on Tuesday, May 21, and throughout, the teams used their wit, charm and a variety of strategies to exchange cans of Red Bull for everything they needed – food, a place to sleep, transportation to the next location – while taking on many other adventures. Though teams had to reach Berlin within the seven-day margin to be eligible for the win, their full scores were based on points earned through Checkpoint Challenges, Adventure Challenge tasks and their vlog posts.
Each team created their own path across Europe. The Checkpoint Challenges that they faced in various cities ranged from abseiling to surfing, learning a traditional alpine Schuhplattler dance and even recording music tracks. In all, there were 61 checkpoints, each with a challenge specific to the locality.
In-between checkpoints, the teams managed to complete almost 8,000 Adventure Challenges that included the straightforward (trading cans for ice cream) as well as the more complex (gathering 20 people to scream their team name in public).
Over the course of the adventure, the teams collectively covered 597,000km – over one and a half times the distance to the moon – across 18 countries and shared their stories with the world, which are available to check out on www.redbullcanyoumakeit.com.
Winning team members Weston Cadena, Jacob Mathiasmeier and David Greek, who originally met as students of Texas A&M University, said, “We’re exhausted, inspired, filled with joy, filled with happiness – so many emotions. When you’re travelling, you’re exposed to a whole new group of people who have world views that are so extraordinary. We visited eight countries in seven days and interacted with people who spoke many different languages. But simply smiling, and our body language, allowed us to communicate and make strong relationships. It feels amazing.”
About Red Bull Can You Make It?
Red Bull Can You Make It? challenges three-person teams in the adventure of a lifetime. Teams from countries across the globe will have seven days to travel across Europe using only cans of Red Bull as currency. Audiences will be able to track all the teams’ journeys on the official Red Bull Can You Make It? website. Teams will collect points by completing many Checkpoint and Adventure Challenges across several countries in Europe to earn the top spot on the leaderboard. It’s not about the first team to the destination – it’s the adventures along the way that matter. This is a journey using wits, charm and strategy to answer one essential question: CAN YOU MAKE IT? www.redbullcanyoumakeit.com
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