165 student teams from over 50 countries from across the globe are being flown out to Europe to travel and embark on a televised competition and adventure. And the best part is, some of our very own Cal Poly students have a chance to represent not only SLO, but the west coast on this journey.
This competition put on by Red Bull is similar to "The Amazing Race;" it's called "Red Bull Can You Make It." Each of the chosen teams will be taken to one of five starting points in Europe where they will start their adventure with only 24 Red Bulls to make it to one of six checkpoints. Yes, this means they will be without their phones and wallets.
Cal Poly students Brian Danis, Carl Wilke, and Andrew Jess have formed the "Cali Crush" team, they have a solid chance at being one of the contending teams. They are currently one of the leading contenders in the western United states, but they need your help in the form of votes to achieve this.
Voting is currently taking place and ends February 25, the competition is April 12 to 19, 2016. You can vote here.
"The teams will have seven days to travel across Europe using their charm, bartering skills, cans of Red Bull as currency for food, transportation, and a place to sleep. Whoever finishes the journey and completes the most amount of tasks on the Adventure List will win the competition. Each team records their adventure with a device given to each team by Red Bull. There will also be a camera crew following the competition around in each city to air on Red Bull TV," Danis said.
Meet the Cal Poly Cali Crush Team:
"It will put Cal Poly on the map and show why we are the best school on the West Coast."
The Cali Crush team heard about the competition from a Red Bull Cal Poly campus rep. They immediately knew they had to be a part of it. They first heard of the competition from a Red Bull rep on campus.
"This will be the best way to globally expose the active lifestyle of Cal Poly students, which is conducive to what Red Bull and the competition is all about. We are currently competing against schools like UCLA, USC, and San Diego and we need to show how our community and networks are much larger than any of theirs. It will put Cal Poly on the map and show why we are the best school on the West Coast. We will also sport Cal Poly gear along the way on Red Bull TV," Danis said.
The winning team will be invited to be "Contiki Travel Ambassadors" for the whole summer. This means they get to travel across Europe embarking on journeys to local attractions and Red Bull opportunities in many countries.
If chosen, they will embark on their journey on Tuesday, April 12. They will have "fresh legs, a full stomach, and 24 Red Bulls. Having no phone or wallet, we will use a map and communication to get to the next checkpoint. Along the way, whether it is hitchhiking on the streets, jumping on trains, or finding shelter in random stairwells, we will need to complete tasks on the Adventure List (I am not quite sure what is on this list). At each city there is a checkpoint where our team will be required to complete a Checkpoint Challenge using strategy and creativity," he said.
There will be 16 total teams selected in the western United Sates, and from those only four are ultimately selected by Red Bull to participate in the competition. So help the Cali Crush team by voting and show the world who's the best in the west.
Team Cali Crush believes that "this would be the trip of a lifetime. It would be the ultimate adventure for the three of us that we will remember for the rest of our lives. But what means the most to us is the community that's behind our trip. This competition will hopefully bring the Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo community together and give everyone something to root for on TV on the global scale. We could not be happier to represent the best school (and city) in the United States."
