Running around with Red Bull in his shoes, intense snowboarding, using Red Bull as gas for his Jeep and mountain biking, are just some of the few things that senior Pierce Hodges did in his video to show Red Bull that he has what it takes to be Red Bull’s First Person.
Hodges was one of five winners of First Person contest, which gives students the opportunity to live the life of a Red Bull athlete. Red Bull has many athletes, from skateboarders to surfers to BMX racers, who do intense stunts, all while promoting Red Bull.
This contest was open to college students all over the country. To enter, students had to create a one-minute video telling Red Bull why they think they should be Red Bull’s First Person. The videos were narrowed down to the top 10 finalists by a panel of judges. Two JMU students were among the chosen: Hodges and freshman Natalie Duda.
It was then open for other people to vote. With a combination of the voting results and the committee’s favorite videos, the top five winners were chosen.
“It’s pretty wild. I’ll be at work and at school and have random people walk up to me and say, ‘Hey! You’re the Red Bull video guy,’” Hodges said. “It took a little time to sink in that I had won a national competition, but I’m really pumped up for whatever lies ahead.”
Hodges heard about the contest at a JMU Boarderline Club meeting.
“I came up with the concept [for the video] randomly one night before falling asleep,” Hodges said. “I shot the video in one day over Spring Break. It involved enlisting the help of my best friends, John Neumann and Jeremy Tehlewitz, and several cans of Red Bull.”
Hodges’ video showed him pouring Red Bull in his gas tank to help get him to his destination faster. He poured Red Bull on his bicycle chain, and then he jumped stairs and jumped obstacle courses showing that Red Bull can “giev you wings.” Finally, he put Red Bull in his shoes to make him run faster, scale walls and run home. He sits with his friends and realizes that he left his car in the woods.
The other winners pulled off other stunts like snowboarding down a snowless mountain in Arizona and claiming Red Bull gave people “the force” to move and change things at will.
Duda, who has been doing motocross for six years, heard about the contest at a Madison Motorsports meeting.
“When I heard that I might have the opportunity to meet my idol, Travis Pastrana, I had to do it,” she said.
Although Duda was not one of the five winners, she made it far in the contest, finishing as runner-up out of 70 video entries.
“Madison Motorsports was a huge supporter of my contest as were my family and friends,” Duda said. “I am definitely considering participating again next year.”
The next phase of being Red Bull’s First Person involves a case and a phone they must keep on them at all times.
“The case also contained some instructions and a couple cans of Red Bull,” Hodges said. “I have to keep the phone on 24/7. As soon as they call me I have 48 hours to get to the airport, packed for cold, warm and wet conditions.”
The entire ordeal will be unexpected and a secret until after the winners have completed the training.
“They’ll be put through some unbelievable training by our athletes,” said the Red Bull First Person Web site. “That means Pastrana could be training them how to navigate a rally car track, or Brian Vickers showing them how to push it through Turn 3. What they do or where they will go as First Person will remain a mystery up until the last minute.”
Although unsure as to what he will end up doing, Hodges says he’s up for anything Red Bull throws at him.
“I’m really excited about the next phase,” he said. “I just hope I’m done with finals and graduation before they call me.”
