After one week, 459,399 km and 20,658 traded cans later, the Red Bull Can You Make It? teams arrived in Amsterdam, celebrating the journey of a lifetime. One hundred ninety-eight teams of the 200 made it to the finish line after being on the road for seven days without any cash or personal phones, using only Red Bull cans as their currency.
Two weeks ago, 200 teams of university students from around the world began the adventure of a lifetime, taking off from five starting points across Europe, the home of Red Bull with only one shared goal: to make it to Amsterdam.
Facing obstacles and challenges along the way, teams were put to the ultimate test throughout their journey, from hitchhiking for hundreds of kilometers to bartering for tickets on commercial flights, participants charmed their way across countries, discovered their inner creativity and ambition, and demonstrated strong camaderie and team spirit throughout.
During their trek throughout Europe, teams got by with a little help from the kind and generous folks along the way. Throughout their journeys, these tenacious trios carried special edition cans of Red Bull Energy Drink which they used as currency to secure transportation, source meals, and even find places to rest at the end of the day.
Cans were traded for skydiving, paragliding, indoor surfing, snowboarding, car rentals and even laundry. Teams had to stop at a minimum of six checkpoints within 51 European cities before reaching the finish line in Amsterdam, which included tasks from peeling thousands of shrimps in Belgium, to taking a selfie with the Leaning Tower in Pisa, to yodelling in the Alps.
Altogether, 40 different means of transportation were used, including commercial flights, helicopters, bicycles, speedboats and, of course, their own feet. The teams passed through 21 countries experiencing different weather conditions, cultures and traditions.
Our Malaysian representative, Team K.A.T finished an impressive 20th out of 200 teams overall and ranked number 1 from Asia.
Team K.A.T comprises of university students Syed Abdul Kabir,(21); Aiman Hamizan, (21); Batrisyia Haji Ismail, (22). They managed to hit six checkpoints, travelled 2,347km across five countries and traded 108 cans of Red Bull along the way.
“By competing in Red Bull Can You Make It? , we have proven to a lot of people that Malaysians can make it! We had an adventure of a lifetime and memories to last forever.” said Syed Kabir from Team K.A.T with a chuckle.
“I’m still pinching myself over the fact that we managed to trade 6 Red Bull cans to get a 1,500 km train trip to Gothenburg to Copenhagen. What we particularly found challenging was the communication aspect. But using our Malaysian charm we have managed to break the language and cultural barriers and connect with locals,” said Aiman.
“What I’m really proud of was when we traded our Red Bull cans for a stay at a 6 star hotel in Amsterdam! What a nice break considering some of the nights that we have to sleep outdoors,” said Batrisyia, or as her friends called her, Trish; the cheery 22 year old and only female in the group.
This has really brought out the very best in us, the lessons learnt were too many to count, in terms of creativity, ingenuity, communication skills, independence, and here we are as Malaysians in Europe, and we didn’t just survive but blew everyone away by becoming number 1 from Asia!
Overall, we had amazing experiences in Europe. We met all kinds of great people, we visited so many amazing places, all the while by just surviving with Red Bull cans. It was a bittersweet moment when we finally reached Amsterdam. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat and meals, and even find places to rest at the end of the day.
Team G I T from Sweden won the overall competition with 655 points. As the accomplished winning team, G I T will get to experience an immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experience from Destination Red Bull.
Check out www.redbulldestination.com to find out more!
Read Team Malaysia’s journal and watch their adventure videos here.
