Picture this: You’re dropped off in the middle of a bustling European city with nothing but a backpack and 24 cans of Red Bull. No money, no phone and no idea where you’ll be spending the night. The goal? Travel across Europe, reach designated checkpoints and complete a series of challenges — all within seven days — using only your provided energy drinks as currency. 

This is the premise of Red Bull’s “Can You Make It?” challenge, and last summer’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Computing Scholar Weston Cadena and his team of modern-day gladiators didn’t just make it — they conquered it.

For those unfamiliar with the adrenaline-fueled event billed as “the ultimate adventure,” think of it as a fusion of “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor,” with a generous splash of Red Bull thrown in for good measure. Hundreds of teams from around the world compete, relying on their wits, charm and a knack for bartering to turn those cans into everything from plane tickets to gourmet meals. The challenge is global, with 270 teams competing, representing 80 different countries. 

Cadena and his friends — fellow Texas A&M University students David Greek and Jacob Mathiasmeier — were already known around campus for their adventurous spirits (from escapades like backpacking through Europe and Northern Africa, skydiving and charity gladiator races) and penchant for pushing limits. When they decided to submit a video and were selected for the challenge, they knew they were in for a wild ride. But even they couldn’t have anticipated the sheer intensity, the joy, the exhaustion and the life-changing experiences that awaited them. The challenge tested not just their physical stamina but their ingenuity and resilience.

“There’s a lot of things that we have done that are pretty ambitious and borderline a little crazy,” Cadena said. “So when somebody hears something like [this challenge], our names start to get associated with it. Our biggest thing was we are ultracompetitive, and it gave us a reason to get back together to do something really fun.”

A leap into the unknown

The rules of the game were simple: starting at one of five assigned starting points in Europe (Milan, Copenhagen, Budapest, Barcelona or Amsterdam), cover as much distance as possible, visit mandatory checkpoints, complete quirky challenges and document the whole adventure on social media — all while trading cans of Red Bull for food, transportation and shelter. With Berlin marking the finish, the challenge included 60 checkpoint cities throughout Europe; at each one, your team is replenished with another pack of 24 Red Bulls to keep the adventure (and adrenaline) flowing. No personal phones are allowed, but each participant is given an event phone for selfies on the journey. 

“We tried our best to get as mentally prepared as possible, but it was hard because they haven’t done this challenge since 2018,” he explains. “They also were very vague with their rules, because I think they wanted to keep it a surprise of what you’re really doing. But on top of that, we sacrificed a lot of sleep to win this challenge.”

The team’s strategy? Stay positive, think creatively and embrace the chaos. And they found chaos. 

Team Gladiators didn’t find out where they’d start (Barcelona) until right before their flights. Another surprise came on Day 1: there was a grand prize at stake, a VIP experience at a Formula 1 race with hospitality provided by Red Bull. The team raced out of the starting gate, skateboards in hand, and from the get-go it was clear that Cadena’s team had a secret weapon: charisma. Their strategy involved setting up camp at gas stations, where they used their Red Bull gear and gladiator helmets to stand out and catch rides.

“If somebody looked our way, we’d ask if we could hitchhike to wherever we wanted to go,” Cadena said. “Most of the time, we were pitching ourselves and the competition and how they could contribute to the race. I think we only had about two trades where somebody was like, ‘Wow, that is a lot of Red Bull.’ It was about people wanting to be a part of a journey and help a team win.”

I don’t just like to travel or vacation, I like to adventure.

The intrepid Gladiators’ first hurdle was to trade their stash of drinks for train tickets to Germany. Unfortunately, the train was delayed several hours, so the team pivoted to bartering for a flight. With a limited supply of cans, they had to be strategic, but also practical. “To get the plane ticket, we traded 15 cans. We even drank a couple, so it was more like 13 cans,” Cadena recounts with a chuckle.

With legions following along on social media, the team traversed Europe, swapping Red Bulls for bus tickets, catching rides with total strangers and sleeping wherever they could lay their heads, some nights only getting 2–3 hours of shut eye. But the competition wasn’t just about reaching Berlin the fastest; they had to accrue the most points through various challenges and side quests, some requiring travel to remote towns in Eastern Europe. 

Teams earned points by completing tasks such as posting vlogs, achieving milestones or participating in local-themed activities. Some challenges were easy, Cadena said, like getting groups of random people to shout out the team’s name or recording their own rap song in a professional studio. Others were more physically demanding and geographically themed, like caving, wakeboarding or climbing a ship’s mast. There were also points for traveling from checkpoint to checkpoint — with teams collecting one point (as the crow flies) for each kilometer. 

When not on trains, their primary mode of transport within cities was a set of short, lightweight penny boards — an ingenious choice that helped them zip between the checkpoints. “Instead of running everywhere with our backpacks, we skated,” Cadena explained. It was faster, and frankly, a lot more fun. But it wasn’t all good times. Cadena and his team faced numerous setbacks along the way, but the team’s ability to adapt and maintain a positive mindset was key to their success.

“There were multiple times where plans that we had or ideas we had would fall through, or we would think we could go to another city and realize that the train tickets were 80 euros, and that there’s no way that we’re going to get three people to buy us those tickets,” Cadena said. “It could very easily just 100% change, and then you’re trying to refigure out everything.”

High risk, high reward in Hungary

At the heart of the team’s success was their unique bond and synergy. Each member had a role, be it negotiator, navigator or planner. When one of the teammates felt the strain of the journey — both physically and mentally — the others rallied around. 

“The motivation was in not letting our team down,” Cadena said. “We all had a saying — ‘I’m not going to be the reason why we lose this.’”

Cadena said his analytical approach to problem-solving, honed through his background in computer science, played a crucial role in several high-pressure situations where last-minute decision-making was vital. That quality came in play at a pivotal moment that set their path to victory in motion. 

In Budapest, Hungary, with just 36 hours to go, the team was in a tight spot, fluctuating between first and fourth place. The pressure was mounting, and it became clear that to clinch the win, they needed to tackle several challenging “remote checkpoints” — high-value targets located on the edges of their provided maps. The decision proved audacious.

“We decided that we were going to have to take a risk and just try to hit two of them, which would literally leave us the furthest team away from Berlin,” Cadena recalled. “It was a risk that we took, and if we didn’t take it, we wouldn’t have won.”

The team ended up in a hamlet in Croatia, with the daunting task of getting to Berlin in less than three days. Waiting for a rideshare that never showed up wasted precious time, and feeling a bit crestfallen, they returned to Zagreb and hitchhiked from there all the way to Prague in 24 hours. 

“The best thing to do is to go to either a highway or a gas station on the highway where people are already stopping so you can have their attention,” Cadena said about the team’s hitchhiking strategy. At one point, a driver dropped them off in the middle of a highway, but they were quickly able to collect themselves and flag down another ride.

The team managed to hit four or five checkpoints on their way to Germany, but the final stretch was particularly grueling. In a race against time, they were mentally and physically exhausted, but they could feel the finish line. 

“In the last 24 hours, the scoreboard goes away,” Cadena explained, leaving the teams able to focus only on their own performance without knowing how others were faring. The Gladiators struggled through soccer and other athletic challenges and pushed themselves to maximize points until the final hours, keeping some challenges on reserve to surprise competitors.

“We were running on such a tight timeline that we couldn’t just say we wanted to do things; we actually had to know, is it possible to do them?” Cadena said. “The checkpoint at Leipzig was very, very nerve-racking. On the bus ride from Leipzig to Berlin, it was like, ‘how do we finish out this last four or five hours that we had and maximize as many points as we can?” 

When the team finally crossed the finish line, “everything felt so worth it,” he recalled. “Celebrating with friends who also competed was amazing.” 

Then the waiting began. They wouldn’t know the results until five hours later.

It’s about the journey, not the destination

When the final points were tallied, the team’s sandbagging strategy had worked, giving them the victory by the slimmest of margins — fewer than 150 points out of more than 18,000 separated them from the runners-up from Egypt. For Cadena, the moment was euphoric. It wasn’t just a victory for the team; it was a triumph over every doubt, every trial and every moment of uncertainty. 

The experience had a lingering and profound impact on Cadena. It made him “think outside the box” and influenced his problem-solving skills. For Cadena, the challenge wasn’t just mental and physical; it was also emotional. Despite the occasional bump in the road, it proved a testament to human kindness.

“[Kindness] became like a part of your day-to-day life,” he explains. “It really showed me how most of the population in this world is willing to help you. If I’m ever on the receiving end of a crazy ask like this, I’m 100% going to help whoever comes up to me.”

In total, Team Gladiators hit 14 checkpoints, covering nearly 5,000 kilometers and 10 countries, participated in over 50 challenges and traded 150 cans of Red Bull to survive and win. Since their victory, Cadena and his team have enjoyed some exciting rewards, including being Red Bull’s guests of honor at the British Grand Prix. However, the most enduring legacy of the challenge is the lasting connections they’ve made by joining a virtual global network ready to share stories, offer a couch for the night or plan the next big adventure.

“There’s a group chat that everyone is in and it’s funny, because people will say ‘Hey, I’m in Barcelona this week. Is anyone in Barcelona?’ And then somebody will be like, ‘Yeah, come stay with me,’” Cadena laughed. “It’s pretty cool to see there’s this whole Red Bull Challenge community that’s formed from it.”

While he continues pursuing his master’s degree back at College Station, Cadena and his team’s success has also led to new opportunities. They recently filmed an application video for The Amazing Race and are eyeing other Red Bull challenges in the future, such as Flugtag, where teams build their own aircraft and see how far they can fly. 

“It was literally the adventure of a lifetime, and so I’m thinking ‘how are we going to try and replicate this?’ he said. “I enjoyed it so much. I’ve realized I don’t just like to travel, or just vacation — I like to adventure. And so, my motivations have changed a lot.”

As Cadena and his team reflect on the experience, their journey not only brought them victory but also lifelong memories, proving that sometimes the greatest rewards come from taking the boldest risks.