Red Bull: Can You Make It? Disco Divas

This year sees the return of the Red Bull Can You Make It? Challenge, aptly described by some as Jailbreak on crack (or should that be caffeinated drinks?).

The challenge will see 165 students teams from more than 50 countries attempt to blag their way across Europe using only Red Bull as their currency. Three teams from Exeter are vying for a spot in the competition, though they need your votes to even make it to the start line. We caught up with them in order to give you the lowdown.

First up were Disco Divas, a particularly rogue group of ladies with some questionable music tastes. I ask Lucy Biggs, Lauren Walter and Helena Baelow, who also proudly claim to be founding members of Rogue Soc, to choose a meeting place on campus – this is their first test. An hour later we’re atop the Physics building – an impressive start.

Red Bull gives you wings

So whose idea was this?

Lucy showed it to us and then everyone just went mad.

So you didn’t take much convincing?

No, she mentioned it and we were likes YES! We got very excited. We’d wanted to do it for quite a while and we were in Berlin for the weekend for Helena’s birthday recently (as Exeter students do). 11 of us just turned up and surprised her in the airport and that kinda inspired us.

We’re very much activity based too – Snowsports, surfing, etc. So we’re flying the flag for the extreme sports clubs.

Unprecedented levels of roguishness

So what’s your secret weapon?

Our secret weapon would be the “don’t care factor”, we don’t get embarrassed – the crazier the better. We can chat shit even at the worst of times.

At this point our interview is interrupted by an angry PHD student telling us to shut up. I don’t think she’ll be voting.

We’ve even got a secret society called Rogue Soc – we’ve been to McDonald’s in black tie – that kind of thing. Oh yeah, and we took over a Lebanese restaurant.

So we’re basically going to travel as Rogue Soc, we’ll be in our Disco Diva outfits, flairs, glasses, this whole theme was inspired by Don’t Walk. Boogie! Oh, and EDL (for those unaware,that’s the English Disco Lovers, not Tommy Robinson’s knuckleheads).

Country bumpkins

Which brings me onto my next question, what’s going to be the soundtrack of your trip?

Everything Disco, we’ve got a disco playlist, it’s on our page. It’s just…. when you’re feeling down, you just put on some disco tunes and you feel so much better about life. And in the morning it’s always Bill Withers’ Lovely Day, you just can’t wake up and not put that on – oh and Macy Gray too. We Love Macy Gray. [Is that even Disco?]

So why should people vote for you?

Vote for us because we are up for anything. It will be a lot of fun to watch what  do on our week travelling through Europe. It’s going to be great to see how weird we can get. There is this YOLO factor, but at the same time we’re all incredibly clumsy, so it’s going to make for some entertaining viewing.

We finish our interview as the angry PhD student returns, kindly asking us to shut up. If you like the sound of Disco Divas flying the flag for Exeter in this Year’s Red Bull Challenge you can vote for them here.