Wings of Vision: How Dietrich Mateschitz Turned a Sweet Thai Drink Into a Global Lifestyle Empire

He didn’t launch young. He wasn’t chasing trends. At 40, while others settled into routine, Dietrich Mateschitz was preparing to reinvent an industry no one thought needed changing. Red Bull wasn’t born out of hype — it was born out of instinct.

Dietrich Mateschitz. Image: KTM

A decade of detours

Born in 1944 in rural Austria, Mateschitz came from a modest background and grew up mostly alone after his parents separated. He spent ten years completing his marketing degree — not out of failure, but exploration. He worked as a ski instructor, took on manual jobs, and lived life slowly but fully, unconcerned with conventional timelines.

Burnout in a tailored suit

After university, he entered the world of multinationals — first selling detergent for Unilever, then leading international marketing for Blendax. The perks of corporate life — endless flights, tailored suits, hotel bars — quickly dulled. Everything, he once said, became "grey."

It was during a business trip to Thailand that he encountered Krating Daeng, a local energy drink used by truck drivers. It tasted medicinal, overly sweet — but it worked. And Mateschitz saw what no one else did: a drink that could awaken the exhausted West.

Inventing a market that didn’t exist

In 1984, he partnered with Krating Daeng’s creator, Chaleo Yoovidhya, and launched Red Bull. Each invested $500,000. The drink was met with rejection — too strange, too sweet, too foreign. Red Bull lost over $1 million in its early years. Mateschitz had no ad budget, only favors, friends, and unwavering belief.

He didn’t sell a beverage. He sold an idea. With the help of his longtime friend Johannes Kastner, he reimagined the product: slim silver-and-blue cans, a logo with two charging bulls, and a message that resonated across cultures — "Red Bull Gives You Wings."

Building a brand, not just a drink

Red Bull’s rise didn’t rely on traditional advertising. Instead, it created moments: Flugtag, Air Races, music festivals, extreme sports sponsorships. The brand didn’t follow culture — it shaped it. The pinnacle came in 2012, when skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space, watched live by millions, breaking the sound barrier — and redefining what a brand could be.

Red Bull became a media empire with its own content house, producing films, magazines, and campaigns that lived and breathed adrenaline, freedom, and edge.

A quiet billionaire who never needed the spotlight

Despite his empire, Mateschitz stayed elusive. He lived in Salzburg, avoided press, and rarely gave interviews. By the time of his passing in 2022, Red Bull was present in more than 170 countries, selling nearly 10 billion cans a year. He had built a portfolio of football clubs, F1 teams, and aircraft — not for show, but for passion.

He once said, “There was no market for Red Bull. So we decided to create one.”

And so he did — not by chasing customers, but by creating a world they wanted to be part of.