Jake Yono

JY Journalism

10/25/25

Red Bull Extreme Sports

Most general people and sports fans consider Red Bull as an energy company and a beverage company. If sports fans have paid attention to some minority sports, you would recognize that Red Bull has a Major League Soccer team (MLS) and 3 other soccer teams across the world; they also own a hockey team, a Formula 1 team, which currently has arguably the best racer, Max Verstappen, and a motorcycle racing club. If you have watched other lower minority sports, you will recognize that the whole league is owned by Red Bull, or in bigger organizations, major athletes have the Red Bull sponsor, such as Mondo Duplantis (Athletics), Lindsey Vonn (Skiing), Summer Mcintosh (Swimming), Caroline Marks (Surfing), and Trinity Rodman (Soccer). These stars and many others have the Red Bull sponsor, and they sponsor athletes and own teams across 50 sports globally (Red Bull). In this article, I will be diving into some of the craziest sports Red Bull has to put on across the globe.

Most of the leagues the company facilitates are sports that are not general at all, giving them the title of extreme in which I will be writing about today. Let’s begin with cliff diving, where divers in tropical areas must jump off platforms up to 85ft and are graded based on diving standards. The practice and sport of cliff diving existed for about 200 years, but Red Bull founded the Cliff Diving World Series in 2009, which has existed ever since giving professionals a platform to showcase their tremendous skills and bravery. Next, we will stay up in the air, where Red Bull popularized the sport of air racing, where pilots in little 2-person propeller planes race around a designated course. Red Bull got involved in 2003, where they created the first competitive stationed organization led by Peter Besenyei (Red Bull Air Racing). This is considered an extreme sport because when we see planes in the sky, they usually are by themselves if not in a military formation, but Red Bull has taken this idea to new heights by professionalizing Competitive Air Racing. Another 2 sports in which this company is involved are skydiving and paragliding, where they sponsor athletes and teams and are involved with the governing body (FAI). Red Bull has this involvement of teams and athletes in other sports but what makes them very special is that they host premier events such as Red Bull X-Alps, where athletes have 2 weeks to hike and paraglide across the Swiss Alps. This sport is very dangerous because athletes can get lost in the mountains or get stuck in a tree when gliding. Next, a sport most have not heard of, which is ice gliding racing on crashed ice where racers on ice skates go around a laid out course and see who gets the fastest time, this sport is extreme because it can cause many injuries, Red Bull does host premiere events of this sport such as “Crashed Ice” in Fenway Park, Boston, MA. If you guys would like to check this out even further, here's a video on it (Crashed Ice Fenway Park 2019). Another sport that is not necessarily extreme is mountain biking, where Red Bull has 2 of the biggest races in Red Bull Rampage and Joyride, which attract major world-class cyclists from around the world on courses through the woods that are not friendly if you make a mistake, as you may run into a tree or wipe out on a turn. The last extreme sport I would like to highlight is that Red Bull is investing in ultra

running, as they sponsor some of the best events and runners. First, I would like to highlight the Red Bull 400, which is a grueling 400-mile race mostly uphill ski mountains to challenge the best runners in the world. Another unique opportunity Red Bull offers in ultra racing is the Wings for Life Run, in which runners are chased by a pace car, and they are out if the car passes them, and the last runner standing wins. This event was started by Red Bull and has become a global running phenomenon that all people would like to try once in their lives. A famous runner this company sponsors is Courtney Darweimer, who is known for beating most males in these grueling 200+ mile races. The last sport I would like to highlight of the many Red Bull sponsors and puts on is not necessarily extreme, but is definitely on the rise, and it's breaking. Red Bull basically brought up the league in its midst and gave premier sponsorships to its best athletes in this new uprising sport, and I appreciate how Red Bull is giving these deserving dancers a platform to showcase their impeccable skills.

In the end, all of these sports are broadcast on Red Bulls TV network and streaming service, and I really like their business model of taking up all the sports that no one or no company tends to take up. Red Bull is a fascinating company, and it’s so cool to see their unique perspective on entering the sports and social media world. No company has ever done this, and I wanted to share this with you guys today. I hope you enjoy it.