What Every Creator Can Steal From Red Bull

Hey Beyonder! 👋

I need to tell you about the most expensive can of Red Bull ever sold.

It cost $30 million.

And it wasn't even full of Red Bull.

Red Bull logo plastered on his chest.

He jumps.

For 4 minutes and 19 seconds, he freefalls. Hits 843 mph. Breaks the sound barrier. Becomes the first human to do it without an engine.

8 million people watched the live stream. Since then, the footage has been viewed nearly 1 billion times.

And here's the part that broke my brain: Red Bull saw a 7% sales spike and a $1.6 billion revenue boost.

From a guy jumping out of a balloon.

No commercial. No product placement. No celebrity holding a can and smiling.

Just pure, insane, heart-stopping spectacle.

That's when I realized—Red Bull isn't in the beverage business. They never were.

The Game Everyone Else Was Playing (And Losing)

Let me paint you a picture of 1987.

The beverage world had one playbook:

Talk about taste. Film people laughing on beaches. Get a celebrity. Battle on price. Show condensation dripping down a cold can. Make people thirsty.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi had been doing this dance since the 1800s. The "Cola Wars" were legendary—millions spent on ads screaming "WE TASTE BETTER!"

When Red Bull entered this battlefield, they faced giants with decades of experience and armies of loyal customers.

Every business consultant would've told them the same thing: compete on value.

Make it cheaper. Make it bigger. Make it taste better.

Red Bull looked at this advice.

And did the exact opposite.

They made sleeker, smaller cans and priced them higher than everyone else.

Then they did something even weirder.

Employees would go to trendy bars and nightclubs and scatter empty Red Bull cans everywhere—before the product even launched.

People would see the trash. The empty cans on tables. The crumpled aluminum in bins.

And think: "Everyone's drinking this thing. What is it?"

Social proof manufactured from literal garbage.

Genius or insane? Both. Definitely both.

The Rebellion: When a Drink Company Became a Media Empire

Here's where it gets wild.

Most companies ask: "How do we sell more product?"

Red Bull asked: "What if we're not a product company at all?"

In 2007, they launched Red Bull Media House—an in-house production studio creating films, documentaries, and live event coverage that airs on streaming platforms and TV networks.

Read that again.

A beverage company built a Hollywood-level production house.

Their YouTube channel has over 21 million subscribers, making it one of the largest brand-run channels worldwide. They produce content so good, you forget you're watching an ad.

Because it's not an ad.

It's a snowboarder doing a backflip off a mountain. It's a wingsuit flyer threading through clouds. It's breakdancers defying physics.

Instead of traditional marketing, Red Bull generated awareness through proprietary extreme sport events and standout stunts.

They don't sponsor events. They own them.

The Framework That Makes This Work (And How You Steal It)

This is what I call The Outlaw Technique.

It's the pattern behind every brand or creator who refuses to blend in.

Here's how it works - four layers you can use in literally any content you create:

Layer 1: The Establishment (Name the Norm)

You start by stating what everyone believes or does in your space.

This does two things:

1. Your audience recognizes the pattern (they nod along)

2. You create tension (because they sense you're about to break it)

Example: "Everyone says you need to post every single day. Miss one day and the algorithm buries you. That's the rule, right?"

Why this works: You're not being contrarian yet. You're just stating facts. Building trust. Showing you understand the game.

Layer 2: The Rebellion (Break the Pattern)

Now you flip it.

Share the moment you went against that belief—and why you did it.

This is where you become interesting. Where people lean in.

Example: "I stopped posting for an entire month. Deleted my scheduling app. Turned off notifications. Went silent.

Not because I was burnt out. Because I realized something: I was creating noise, not value. I was feeding the algorithm instead of feeding my audience."

Why this works: You're not just being different. You're showing reasoning. You're making rebellion look smart, not reckless.

Layer 3: The Proof (Show What Happened)

This is where skeptics become believers.

Give concrete results. Share what you learned. Prove your rebellion wasn't just a lucky accident.

Example: "That silent month taught me more than 365 days of posting ever did.

I studied which of my old posts actually changed lives. I interviewed 20 followers to ask what they really needed. I rebuilt my content strategy from scratch.

When I came back? My engagement didn't drop. It doubled. Because I finally had something worth saying."

Why this works: Data beats opinion. Results silence doubt. You're not asking people to trust you - you're showing them it worked.

Layer 4: The Reframe (Give the Lesson)

Now you make it useful.

Turn your personal story into a universal principle your audience can apply today.

Example: "Here's what I learned: Consistency without intention is just spam.

You don't need to post daily. You need to post meaningfully.

Try this: Take one week off every quarter. Use it to audit your content. Ask yourself:

• What actually helped people?

• What was just noise?

• What should I stop/start/continue?

Sometimes the best content strategy is silence."

Why this works: You gave them a framework. A permission slip. A tactical step they can take tomorrow.

How to Find Your Outlaw Stories (The Gold Mine)

Okay, this framework sounds great. But how do you actually find these stories in your own life?

Here's the system:

Step 1: List Your Industry's Sacred Rules

Open a doc. Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Write down every "you MUST do this" rule in your niche.

Examples:

• "Post at 9 AM for maximum engagement"

• "You need a fancy camera to make good content"

• "Niche down to one specific topic"

• "Always end with a CTA"

• "Never go more than 3 days without posting"

Don't filter. Don't judge. Just dump them all out.

Pro tip: Check what the biggest accounts in your space preach. Those are usually the commandments.

Step 2: Find Your Breaking Points

Now go through that list and ask:

"When did I break this rule - intentionally or accidentally?"

Maybe you:

• Posted at midnight instead of 9 AM and it went viral

• Shared something super personal and got your best engagement

• Took a month off and came back stronger

• Ignored your "niche" and talked about something random that blew up

• Made content on your phone that outperformed your DSLR footage

Write down 3-5 of these moments.

These are your content gold mines.

Step 3: Structure Each Story

Take one of those moments. Run it through the 4 layers:

1. What's the norm? (The rule everyone follows)

2. How did you break it? (Your rebellion + why)

3. What happened? (Results, good or bad)

4. What did you learn? (The reframe)

Do this once and you have one killer post.

Do it with all 5 moments? You have a week of content.

Do it every month? You have a content strategy that makes you unforgettable.

Step 4: Adapt to Every Format

This framework is a chameleon. It works on every platform.

The Real Question

So let me ask you something:

Not your product. Not your service. Not your content.

What's the feeling? The identity? The transformation?

Because Red Bull doesn't sell energy drinks. They sell the feeling of being alive. Of pushing limits. Of defying gravity.

Keep telling stories (the ones that matter),
Epaphra