When launching a product called an Energy Drink and named Red

When Dietrich Mateschitz declared, “When launching a product called an Energy Drink and named Red Bull, a product that stimulates body and mind, it is a short step to the roots where Red Bull came from. We have been doing this for 20 years – now it’s called adventure sports, extreme sports, and outdoor sports,” he spoke not merely of business, but of vision. His words carry the weight of one who understood that a brand is not only a drink in a can, but a symbol, a force tied to human longing for challenge, danger, and transcendence.

The ancients knew well that every great endeavor must be tied to something beyond itself. To sell a tool, one must bind it to a craft; to build a temple, one must bind it to a god. Mateschitz bound his Energy Drink to the eternal pursuit of daring. He linked the spark of caffeine and taurine not to the mundane office desk, but to the mountain cliff, the open sky, the thundering waves. His words remind us that the true power of an idea is unleashed when it speaks to the deepest instincts of mankind—the desire to test limits and taste the edge of the impossible.

Adventure sports, extreme sports, and outdoor sports are more than games; they are the modern equivalents of ancient trials. Just as gladiators fought in the Colosseum, just as warriors tested themselves in duels, so do today’s climbers, divers, riders, and jumpers test themselves against nature and gravity. Red Bull became not only a drink, but a patron of courage, a companion of those who risk bones and breath for glory. Mateschitz did not create the spirit of daring—he tapped into its roots and gave it wings.

History offers us a mirror in the tale of Alexander the Great. When he built cities and named them Alexandria, he was not simply founding settlements—he was leaving symbols of his spirit across the world. They were monuments of conquest, but also of vision. In the same way, Mateschitz did not merely launch a beverage; he launched a movement, stamping the name Red Bull onto skydiving records, mountain bike trails, cliff diving competitions, and Formula One victories. Each act whispered the same message: life is meant to be lived on the edge.

What is striking in his words is the acknowledgment of roots. He admits that Red Bull’s bond to daring was there from the beginning, not a manufactured strategy but a natural alignment. This humility carries wisdom: true greatness is not imposed from above but drawn from what already lives within the human heart. For centuries, men and women have leapt from heights, raced across plains, and dived into depths simply to feel alive. Mateschitz simply clothed this eternal fire in modern form and gave it a stage.

The lesson, then, is profound: if you would create something lasting, bind it not to passing fashion but to the eternal hungers of the human spirit. Tie your work to courage, to joy, to freedom, to beauty, to the elemental forces that move men and women across all times and lands. For trends pass, but the desire to transcend limits will endure as long as humanity itself.

Practically, this means when you build, create, or dream, ask yourself: what root of the human heart does this serve? Does it awaken courage, inspire play, bring harmony, or reveal truth? Shape your work so that it does not merely exist, but resonates with what is eternal. In this way, you will not only sell, or perform, or achieve—you will plant a legacy that grows long after you are gone.

Thus, the words of Dietrich Mateschitz stand as both business insight and ancient teaching: to awaken body and mind, to tie a product to the timeless spirit of adventure, and to remind the world that daring is the lifeblood of greatness. For as long as men leap from cliffs, as long as women scale mountains, as long as humanity hungers for the edge, Red Bull—and all who follow its example—will soar on the wings of the eternal.