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Davis

Davis, California

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Take your best (energy) shot

Editor’s note: On behalf of The California Aggie, features writer Amanda Hardwick went on the hunt for boxes of Red Bull last week, hoping to claim a prize.


It was almost 1 a.m. on a Tuesday and I found myself alone on campus with a flashlight and my camera. With only clues like “The dungeon beyond the Harry Potter reading room” and “An overflowing fountain provides a river of hope, maybe you’ll get that financial aid to cope” to guide me, I was on the prowl.

My mission: to find one of the many stashes of Red Bull Energy Shots hidden in Davis throughout October.

After searching through tree branches, behind garbage cans, and even in a fountain, I came out empty handed. Sadly, the only treasure I found was a homeless man on a bench outside the financial aid office. He didn’t have any either.

Across the nation during the whole month of October, “Red Bull Stash” is taking place to promote the introduction of the new Red Bull Energy Shots. In northern California, participating cities are predominately college towns such as Davis and Chico. Other local participators include Sacramento, Folsom, Placerville, Tahoe and Dixon.

In these cities, twelve packs of Red Bull Energy Shots are being hidden under trees, behind fences and just about anywhere else imaginable.

“Some of the stashes are hard, some are easy,” said Kevin Goldber, senior political science major and Red Bull student brand manager. “They all should be hidden from plain sight, and can be found easily if you look hard enough.”

The game works like this: Several stashes go out at a time, and for every 12-pack stashed, a clue will be posted on Red Bull’s Facebook page. Alex Reeves, Sacramento Red Bull Wiiings Team member and sophomore community and regional development major, said one must first become a fan of the Red Bull Facebook page to access the clues.

Once one “fans” the page, they can type in their zip code on the site to find stashes in their vicinity. A handy dandy map of the zip code in question will pop up with markers indicating areas where a stash is hidden.

Simply click on a location and a clue will appear along with a vague “Stash Location” and the occasional “Extra Hint.” For Davis, stash clues have been anywhere from “Yolo’s number one fro-yo!” to “Arlington’s finest kernels”.

“Some [already claimed] stashes were hidden in the basement of the library, behind the bear at Black Bear Diner and the Farmers’ Market,” Goldberg said.

After finding a stash, finders can follow the instructions on the pack to see what to do next. The directions encourage the winner of the stash to go on the “Red Bull Stash” Facebook page, plug in their code and claim their find. Claimed stashes will be taken off the map, and new Red Bull Energy Shots will be stashed.

According to the “Red Bull Stash” webpage, claiming your stash not only means an opportunity to cyber-brag about your finding but it is also a chance to win a bigger prize.

“When entering the code you are automatically entered to win the grand prize, which is something big that I don’t even know yet,” Goldberg said.

Josie Drayton is just one UC Davis student to have claimed a stash so far. A confessed fan of scavenger hunts, she looked up clues and went on a search.

“The clue mentioned looking above the MU construction to find beauty in nature, so of course it was hidden behind a flowerpot on the Memorial Union second floor terrace,” Drayton said, a senior animal science major. “I put in the code so the clue would get taken down and other people wouldn’t go looking for a stash that wasn’t there.”

Nearing the halfway mark for October, the “Red Bull Stash” Facebook page shows that only 15 percent of the cases have been stashed. Reeves stated that some of the already stashed cases remain unclaimed, and even more will be hidden as the month continues.

Goldberg said around 40 stashes will be hidden on campus and around the city of Davis by the end of October. Students who have a love for Red Bull, or even just a love of scavenger hunts can learn more about Red Bull Stash and participate by checking out facebook.com/redbull?v=app_123793864961.

AMANDA HARDWICK can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

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