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Y’all wanna hear the Red Bull story? I once spent like a week in 2013 reading about it, but that was before I became a Twitter fiend 
2 parts to the Red Bull story, the Thai part and the Austrian part, and both bits are interesting. The more I learned abt Dietrich Mateschitz, the Austrian founder, the more I found him to be incredibly cool. Smart, savvy, a true branding master. Cooler & wealthier than R.Branson
[About 4 times wealthier. Funny how once you're a billionaire, you're just a billionaire. Dietrich is approx ~4 Bransons, and Bezos is 5.5 Dietriches. 1 Bezos is over 20 Bransons]
But I don't care about the money, I care about the cool. And Dietrich is IMO the coolest of the lot
But I don't care about the money, I care about the cool. And Dietrich is IMO the coolest of the lot
The can that I'm holding is Krating Daeng. It started in Thailand, and was a popular stimulant among laborers and truck drivers. My dad ran an industrial waste disposal company, and I had my first taste of it from one of the drivers. A very "word-of-mouth" working class drink
A Daeng is technically a Gaur, not a Bull. Also known as the Indian Bison. These brothers are native to South & Southeast Asia and they are huge. They will Fuck You Up!! They're the tallest of the wild cattle species en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaur
so anyway – our man Dietrich was working in marketing for Blendax toothpaste (a German brand that's since been bought by P&G) when he was travelling through Thailand. There he discovered Kratingdaeng, found that it helped with his jet lag, and cofounded Red Bull w/ Thai partners
The Thai founder was Chaleo Yoovidhya, born to poor Thai-Chinese immigrant family that raised ducks. With no formal education, Chaleo started out as an antibiotics salesman, set up his own small pharma biz, and developed Kratingdaeng in 1976. He died the 3rd richest man in 🇹🇭
I remember being inspired by Dietrich's marketing and branding philosophy. He saw Red Bull not as a competitor to Coke, but a drink in a whole new category of its own. Red Bull does not sponsor events – it makes its own. The head office in Austria was Apple-esque before Apple
Dietrich, like Elon and Donald, deeply understands the power of spectacle in building a brand. Red Bull is about adventure, it's about winning, it's about daring to be bold.
Even their charity work is masterfully chosen: spinal cord research to give wings to disabled adventurers
Even their charity work is masterfully chosen: spinal cord research to give wings to disabled adventurers
Dietrich has skin in the game – he has a pilot's license, has a hanger full of planes that he actually flies, is fit and handsome... if I could be the personal assistant to a billionaire — since Steve's not around any more — I'd probably pick Dietrich. Yeah,,, over Elon 🤔
"It wouldn't be Red Bull if it didn't start harmless and end up as a catastrophe," Mateschitz says. "And architects are really only paid discussion partners anyway."
The interviewer observes, "his product philosophy is seemingly derived from his own outlook on life"
goals
The interviewer observes, "his product philosophy is seemingly derived from his own outlook on life"
goals
He used to work as a ski instructor!! That's the founder of Red Bull. He's legit. His brand is an extension of himself the way Apple was an extension of Steve. He's not one of those billionaires who looks stupid trying to drink from a bottle of water
"At $2/can, it was far-and-away the most expensive carbonated drink on the shelves."
@patio11 is right, everybody: Raise Your Prices
@patio11 is right, everybody: Raise Your Prices
"A curious hybrid of a mogul, Mateschitz has a zest for life that rivals Richard Branson's, but his obsession with controlling information puts him closer to Steve Jobs. "
"It's just that I'm not old and wise enough to be married yet," he says. "But is it necessary that you write about this?"
😂 He is hilarious and charming and full of personality. He also reminds me a lot of David Ogilvy
😂 He is hilarious and charming and full of personality. He also reminds me a lot of David Ogilvy
He recognized that paranoia about whether Red Bull was dangerous was actually good for the brand.
"The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest."
"The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest."
Red Bull is known to hire attractive young women to drive around to sporting events, public spaces, etc and give away free cans. It takes a certain confidence and conviction to do this. But they know it works. If you're thirsty and an attractive woman gives you a drink, wyd?
The cool thing is, because of the founder, the philosophy, the marketing methods, etc... when Red Bull says "profit is not our driver", I find myself actually believing them
Anyway yeah. Dietrich is part of a council of humans I have assembled in my head to help guide my thinking about life and business. If you like him, I think you’d also like David Ogilvy
Whoops yeah brain fart
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