Sept. 6, Hayward, California, native and Red Bull Fixed Gear Free Style athlete Joshua “Boy-Ocean-Ocean-Tom-Henry-Boy-Yellow” Boothby, as he introduced himself, visited an APU consumer business class to speak about his experience as a Red Bull athlete.
Boothby’s visit to the classroom included Red Bull’s Wing Girls handing out samples of the new cranberry and blueberry flavors to get the audience energized.
Boothby presenting his bike to the class Photo credit: Annely Salgado
During his conversation with the class, Boothby showed off his fixed gear bike and invited students to test it out, while also explaining how Red Bull has helped create the “Riding Style” in his industry. He also encouraged students with his own life experiences to not be afraid of what others may think about them based on the way they look.
“My biggest obstacle would have to be my ethnicity, I am half African half English, when you approach companies they assume things other than what they are. They look at me, watch me skate and then realize who I really am,” Boothby said.
Red Bull Field Marketing Specialist Marlene Laris was also at the lecture and told the class, which is currently learning about marketing tactics, that Red Bull tries to target the collegiate consumer.
“You’re moving away, you’re buying more. It’s a critical time to educate you on our product,” Laris said.
This visit was not only about sampling Red Bull, but also educating the students on how they can be a part of the company.
Senior marketing major Alex Forsyth, Red Bull’s student brand manager, set up the event. Forsyth once sat in a consumer business class, and he has now put his passion into action by working for the company he desired.
According to Redbull.com: “Our SBM’s are passionate about Red Bull and share their love for the brand with their peers. They are responsible for driving the brand image on campus, building belief in the product benefits and ensuring long term loyalty starting with the college experience. The goals of the Student Brand Manager program are to reach new students, excite students, increase sales and manage the Red Bull brand on a collegiate level.”
In Southern California there are about 30 SBMs and close to 300 across the United States. One experiment Forsyth was able to perform in the Cougar Den was placing there a red box that looked like a fire alarm. On the outside it said, “In case of party,” and contained cases of the product he so passionately promotes. When students started to discover the contents of the box, Forsyth enjoyed watching their reactions, he shared with the class.
“We love surprising people with that awe factor,” Forsyth said.
Other events on campus that have sampled Red Bull include last year’s Foamcoming and the Electric Zu.
From the lecture, Boothby and the Wing Girls who accompanied him met 10-12 students near Seven Palms, rode to the Glendora skate park and got a chance to hang out and ride together. Once at the park, other youth from the community were drawn to the Wing Girls and their cooler backpacks and were able to meet Boothby and see what he could do with a fixed gear bike. After a couple of hours riding, sharing stories of gnarly spills and experiences around the world, Boothby headed to the airport and said “until next time” to the APU community.
Boothby showing off some skills at the skate park Photo credit: Annely Salgado
Forsyth will continue to bring Red Bull to APU for events. For more on Boothby, click here.