Making your own Red Bull Helmet – Should you?
The finished article looks sick. really authentic and it would take a trained eye to know that the lid you were wearing wasn’t a legitimate Red Bull lid. But it’s no secret that Red Bull don’t dish out their official Pro gear to just anybody nor is it available to pick up in the stores. Wearing a Red Bull lid holds as much prestige as lifting a winners trophy in the mountain bike world. It demonstrates to anyone who cares to look that you have been recognised as one of the best at what you do and worthy of Red Bull sponsorship.
So, making your own copycat lid as demonstrated in the vid seems to be devaluing something that is pretty hard to achieve. Most athletes who officially wear the Red Bull logo have worked incredibly hard to get that badge so is it fair for Joe Bloggs to fake it for the sake of plaudits from your peers?
In terms of sponsoring athletes, Red Bull are very selective in terms of who they target. First of all, the sport itself has to fit in with Red Bulls image and brand personality, the athlete and the sport had to be individual, non-conformists and unpredictable. From Red Bull – “generally, these are extreme sports only. But if there is an energetic golfer, then no problem.” Red Bull started this route of sponsorship by first just making their product available at competitions, allowing athletes and participants to come across Red Bull in their own way, becoming real, authentic users. Following on from this subtle brand introduction, Red Bull and the desired athletes would then work out a sponsorship deal, resulting in Red Bull gaining a place of featuring their logo somewhere on their clothing, equipment, or both. Red Bull are then; very careful about what and who wear their logo.
On the other hand, should anyone be able to do whatever they like with their own kit and if they want to spray up their own lid with a Red Bull livery then it really is nobodies business but their own?
