Editor’s Note: This article by Jake Rossen originally appeared on Van Winkle’s, a new website dedicated to exploring how sleep affects and informs our lives.
U.S. Army Ranger Shane Snell held the chunky aluminum can in his hand and took a deep breath. In the course of 30 minutes, he had downed five 8-ounce servings of Rip It, a military-approved energy drink that was infamous for causing a variety of unpleasant side effects when consumed in excess. This would be can number six. It took him 10 minutes to finish it.
In the boredom arising out of a cool night in Ramadi, Iraq, this was a “Case Race,” or an attempt to down as many of the cans in a 24-pack as he and his squadron possibly could. When no one was interested, he and a friend took it upon themselves. By the time he slammed down a seventh, his sergeant burst in and told him to get moving.
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“I knew this had been a bad idea,” Snell recalls.
After 20 minutes had passed, Snell started sweating profusely. Riding in a convoy and fully geared up, the mixture of caffeine, taurine, sugar and other additives were swimming around in his intestines, undulating like the mixture inside a convenience store slush machine. He farted with such potency the vehicle’s driver started to dry heave. Forcing him to pull over, Snell ran out and crouched over before he soiled his many layers of fatigues. His body hummed with a restless energy. Snell says it was “like my skin was crawling.”
Such are the excesses of a military life powered by Rip It. While the multi-flavored refreshment has a rather minimal stateside profile, lost among the Red Bulls and Monsters that secure prime refrigerator shelf space, it is can be found almost anywhere a soldier goes in the Middle East. It’s as common as an MRE and Snell estimates at least 99% of enlisted men and women have tried it, with some growing so attached they’re more concerned with how many cans are left than the quality of actual food.
“It’s everywhere,” he says by way of explanation, “and it’s free.”
The National Beverage Corporation was founded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1985 on the strength of CEO Nick Caporella’s acquisition of Shasta and Faygo, second-tier beverage brands that had multiple bottling facilities across the country. Diversity — selling everything from sparkling water to root beers — allowed National to find a place among the top 10 soft drink companies.
In the early 2000s, National got into the burgeoning energy drink field with Rip It, a low-cost alternative to the premium Red Bulls and Monsters of the industry. Priced at roughly $1 a can in discount retail outlets, Rip It uses 25 grams of sugar to shuttle roughly 100 milligrams of caffeine and the caffeine-infused guarana seed extract into the bloodstream for a cheap, easy fix. (The 16-ounce serving doubles that.)
In 2004, the company had reached an agreement with defense contractors to offer the cans downrange in Iraq and Afghanistan following the war on terror outbreak. Though the terms of the deal are unknown — National Beverage did not respond to multiple requests for comment — the arrangement made the brand easily accessible to soldiers seeking a boost for long hours on duty, or when drowsiness could prove fatal.
“You need to keep awake somehow,” says Tim Hsia, an infantry officer who served for six years and observed Rip Its being hoarded from chow halls like gold bricks. “It’s paramount to survival, not only for yourself, but for your peers.” More so than food, he believed his fellow soldiers perceived Rip Its as “mission essential.”
Hsia didn’t drink the stuff himself. “I’m more of a sunflower seed guy,” he says, preferring the act of chewing over caffeine or stimulants. But when he was a logistics officer in charge of rationing food products, he said he’d heard it if he somehow didn’t portion it out properly.
“People would count ammo, how many bottles of water and how many Rip Its they got,” he says.
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Some soldiers walked bowlegged out of chow halls, cargo packs stuffed with the cans. They were preparing for a convoy and shifts that could last anywhere from 36 to 48 hours with only minimal time for naps. “If they were going away for a few days, or a week, they wanted it with them.”
While older veterans might opt for coffee, younger soldiers are of an energy drink generation and took to Rip Its as a kind of brand comfort in otherwise unfamiliar territory. “It’s got a funny name,” Hsia says, “and they identify with it.”
Some sergeants might limit the number of cans per soldier to just two a day, although it wouldn’t be uncommon for someone to ingest five or six spread throughout a shift. Those with an extreme tolerance might down as many as 18, creating the kind of hyper vigilance found in cartoons. One soldier told National Public Radio that it was Rip Its and tobacco that kept him up late into the night while on patrol. “Patriotism,” the company ad slogan reads. “…If only we could bottle it!”
Ater 11 deployments in 13 years, Snell developed a pretty good eye for the wide variety of Rip Its' gastrointestinal casualties and their corresponding flavors. The drink comes in everything from citrus to sugar-free, and each seems to use its blend of caffeine and pick-me-up herbal ingredients to provoke a different response. Many soldiers just feel awake and alert; others suffer from what Snell refers to as “man-strual cramps,” a clenching of the guts that struggles to keep up with the influx of stimulating liquid.
“I knew a guy who, if he drank the citrus flavor, would get diarrhea within minutes,” he says. “Another one made his teeth hurt.” Others can pour three or four cans over ice and “just smash it. Nothing happens.”
Steven Whiting, Ph.D., director at the Institute of Nutritional Science, worries that consumption of diuretics in high-temperature environments might be ill-advised.
“They’re already perspiring profusely, and now they’re forcing more fluids through the kidneys,” he says, leading to a possible electrolyte imbalance. Sustained use of caffeine, he says, can cause sleeplessness and anxiety issues, as well as irregular heartbeats in susceptible individuals.
Monster Energy is currently facing a series of lawsuits over people who consumed the drink — though often to excess — and claim they subsequently suffered kidney or cardiac problems.
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Snell, however, believes soldiers are probably more qualified to address possible hydration issues than anyone, since protocol for managing fluids is covered extensively during training. Rip Its and other energy drinks, he says, are avoided if soldiers know a lot of physical exertion like hiking or carrying equipment will be required.
“Your core temperature is already spiking, so we don’t need to add to it,” he says.
Stateside, Rip It keeps connected to servicemen and women via support on social media, while hashtags like #teamnosleep try and appeal to cramming students, all-night gamers, and law enforcement.
Having recently finished a cross-country move, Snell happened to come across a Rip It display while stopping at a convenience store.
“I got one,” he says, “but couldn’t bring myself to drink it until I got home. Just in case.”
This article was published on Van Winkle’s.
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| Type | Energy drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | National Beverage Corp. |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 2004 |
| Variants |
|
| Website | www.ripitenergy.com |
Rip It is an energy drink that is produced and distributed by National Beverage Corp.,[1] maker of Shasta, Faygo, and La Croix. It was introduced in 2004[2][3] and is National Beverage Corp.'s first energy drink.[4]
Marketed as 'energy fuel at a price you can swallow,'[2] Rip It drinks have been referred to as a 'bare-budget option', often costing $1 per can in the United States.[5] They have been supplied to US military personnel serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and have gained popularity there.[5][6]
Flavors and ingredients[edit]
The drinks come in a variety of flavors (13 different ones as of 2020[3]). There are sugar-free versions of some flavors as well as 2 fl oz shots. Some flavors are available in both 16 and 8 fl oz cans.[7]
The drink contains 160% daily value of vitamin C, 240% daily value of vitamin B6, and 830% daily value of vitamin B12 per 16 fl oz serving according to product packaging (purchase date: 2020-11-24). It also contains taurine, caffeine, inositol, and guarana seed extract. Sugar-free versions contain sucralose and acesulfame potassium.[8] Rip It drinks average about 160 mg of caffeine per 16 fl oz can, with the Le-MOAN’R flavor containing 204 mg of caffeine.[9] The 2 fl oz shot versions contain about 100 mg of caffeine, with some flavors containing as much as 135 mg.[10]
Sponsoring[edit]
In 2020, the brand sponsored the 100Talk Podcast, aimed fans of 100 Thievesesports.[11] They previously sponsored Olympic champion alpine skierJulia Mancuso in 2010[12] and the No. 16 car in the Automobile Racing Club of America driven by Joey Coulter in 2012.[13]
Ripit Mac
Support of U.S. military[edit]
The drink is popular and widely consumed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.[14][15][6] In a 2016 interview, an Army staff sergeant noted that 'over three-quarters of military personnel are drinking this stuff on the regular'.[5] The brand highlights its support for the United States Military in its marketing.[16]
References[edit]
- ^'Corporate'. Rip It Energy Fuel official website. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
Rip It Energy Fuel is part of the National Beverage family of brands
- ^ ab'Rip It Energy Fuel Details'. bevNET.com Brand Database. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
Rip it Energy Fuel brand established in 2004 […] the core brand's message 'energy fuel at a price you can swallow'
- ^ ab'Rip It Energy Fuel'. Shasta Foodservice. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
Rip It Energy Fuel has been thriving since 2004
CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link) - ^'National Beverage Corp'. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
National Beverage entered this growing segment [energy drinks] with its Rip It line of energy beverages
- ^ abcFulton, Wil (2016-08-12). 'How an Energy Drink You've Never Heard Of Took Over the US Military'. Thrillist. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
over three-quarters of military personnel are drinking this stuff on the regular […] it's mostly known as a bare-budget option, often costing $1 per can
CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link) - ^ abRossen, Jake (2016-04-21). 'How Rip It Became the Unofficial Drink of the U.S. Military'. vanwinkles.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
Rip It can be found almost anywhere a soldier goes in the Middle East. It’s as common as an MRE.
CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link) - ^'Our Brands'. nationalbeverage.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
[…] in fifteen regular and seven sugar-free flavors […] With 17 awesome flavors to choose from
CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link) - ^'Rip It Review | How It works, Pros/Cons, In-Depth Reviews'. Dietspotlight.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Caffeine in Rip It Energy Drink'. caffeineinformer.com. Retrieved 2017-03-31.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Caffeine in Rip It Energy Shot'. caffeineinformer.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^'100talkpod tweet'. Twitter. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^'Julia Mancuso'. The Official Site of the U.S. Ski Team. 2010-04-10. Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^'Joey Coulter Ready to Rip It Up at Talladega'. catchfence.com. 2010-04-20. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-07-23.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Memmott, Mark (2009-06-26). 'In Afghanistan: Coffee; Rip Its; And Tobacco'. NPR. Retrieved 2012-02-16.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Tyson, Ann Scott (2009-05-22). 'Generals Find Suicide a Frustrating Enemy'. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Military Support'. Rip It Energy Fuel official website. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
For over a decade, we’ve supported the United States Military, serving RIP IT at home and downrange since 2004.
External links[edit]
Ripitas
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