Red Bull Climbers Suck!

Some pro climbers are willing to do just about anything to fund their lifestyles; different dogs, same old bone. Rock climbers who accept sponsorships from disreputable companies like Red Bull embarass themselves and the sport they represent. Red Bull is one of the most notable sponsors of adventure sports and also the most abominable. Numerous studies have shown the harmful effects of Red Bull on the human body, yet pro climbers like Alex Megos, Will Gadd and David Lama continue to promote it. Anyone who claims this stuff is healthy is more full of shit than a campground outhouse. I understand these are popular, charismatic people who could charm the fangs off a snake, but that shouldn’t win them a free pass for ethics. I doubt Will Gadd chugs a Red Bull before clambering up WI6 ice! To watch Megos, Lama, Gadd and others fawning at the feet of Mammon just to score a few extra bucks for their next climbing trip makes me sick to my stomach. The amount of harm done to young people who admire these hero climbers and begin ingesting toxic substances is incalculable. They may as well accept sponsorships from Phillip Morris — and in fact they probably would! Maybe they could even borrow a slogan from the Marlboro Man; ‘Red Bull tastes good like chemicals should.’ Promoting cigarette smoking may even be more ethical than promoting Red Bull because the harmful effects of nicotine are widely known, whereas the side effects of taurine and other Red Bull ingredients have been less publicized. With climbing making its debut in the Olympics soon, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Megos, Gadd and company pimping McDonalds or Pepsi Cola. They should be ashamed of themselves.

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so tell me how you really feel. . .

Actually that was a Winston commercial. I agree with what you said plus it tastes terrible. Even my 17 and 21 year old daughters won't drink it.

JesseJames - What perfectly ethical company do you work for to support your lifestyle?

Eric Carlos wrote:JesseJames - What perfectly ethical company do you work for to support your lifestyle?

climbing friend,

do not be hating on a playa

So, you're more a monster kinda guy?

red bull still makes drinks? and here i was beginning to think they just made extreme sport youtube videos...

Where is Bob Byhre when ya need him?

Yeah, that's the one sponsorship that Sasha DiGiulian has that really bugs me. The funny thing is I have yet to see her, or any other sponsored climber, actually drink the shit, so it's questionable if RB is actually getting any returns on their investment. The problem is that they are extremely aggressive about sponsoring events, so it would probably be a lot harder to pay for trips without them. While being sponsored by climbing companies like 5.10, Sportiva, etc is great for the gear, somebody has to pay for everything else if you're a pro. What I don't get is why Red Bull goes after the adventure-sport market. Why don't they just embrace their market and sponsor video game championships and Comicon?

I was kind of with you until I saw you were just pimping your own brand of garbage with all the links at the end. Also pathetic.

I hope this place remains a forum for discussion and not user-generated click bait.

Red Bull is pretty gross, but it's far from the most disreputable company people could go begging for money to. I even drink it -very- occasionally when I want a nuclear option for staying awake, say driving home after a long alpine climb or something, cause I have a pretty low caffeine tolerance and it works pretty well for that purpose. I sure as hell don't drink it for the taste.

As for the company's negative impact on the climbing community, I'd argue that their near fetishization of the need to be extreme and death defying puts a really warped view of what climbing is to the general population. Don't get me wrong, I like me some scary climbing, runout trad, highballs, etc., but there is definitely an OMGSOEXTREEEME WE ALMOST DIED LIKE 10 TIMES aspect to their marketing that I find more off-putting than the drink itself.

Benjamin Williams wrote:red bull still makes drinks? and here i was beginning to think they just made extreme sport youtube videos...

Wow what an insightful and thoughtful discussion. Do you happen to have more opinions for me to read? Oh wait you already whored yourself out for the likes. Rad!

I like caffeine. I like PVCs. I like the occasional youtube brain drain. WTF?!

It is a nice kind of irony to promote one's blog while bitching about sponsorship.

It is okay, the sting of being turned down for sponsorship will fade. It is no reason to go bad mouthing the company because they did not think you were as good or as deserving of sponsorship as you did.

Redbull is good, but I like the Monster REHAB one the best, tastes like arnold palmer and isn't carbonated.

Untwist those panties dude. That was quite a rant. One, I haven't seen any studies suggesting that Red Bull is bad for you (unless you mix it with alcohol and then overindulge on that). Two, who cares if athletes promote it? If it supports their income and lifestyle and isn't hurting anyone (which it's not), then who cares?

A strange post. Did you suddenly wake up this morning and decide to begin your jeremiad against Red Bull?

Well that came off a bit whiny.

Chris Sharma climbed Jumbo Love. Sasha DiGiulian climbs huge 5.13+ multipitch routes. Alex Megos onsights 5.14d.

Shut the fuck up. Jerk.