SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, — More than 50 teams from across the country converged this weekend for the Red Bull Soapbox Race Utah, where creativity and adrenaline meet in a wild and wacky display of homemade racing karts. Among them was a group of friends, some based in Denver, known as Duck N' Suds, who wowed the crowd with their bathtub-themed entry.
"We all met maybe five or six years ago online in a Twitch stream," said the team captain, who goes by the nickname "DuckBoxing" on his own Twitch channel.
DuckBoxing and his teammates create their own content online and asked to use only their screen names for this story.
The group of five friends — Erby, Crispy, Cousta, Trent, and DuckBoxing — quickly bonded over their love of streaming, viral challenges, and creativity. Now, they are putting that energy into a soapbox racer.
DuckBoxing doesn't take challenges lightly. On one stream, DuckBoxing counted every pine needle on a 6-foot-tall Christmas tree.
"I didn't end the stream until I finished... 233,000 pine needles later," he explained.
The stunt took him two weeks to complete.
Since the beginning of their journey, the team wasn't concerned with bringing back a trophy. After all, it was their first time building anything like the cart and they were focused on completing the challenge.
"When you think about Red Bull, it's the coolest, craziest things on the planet," DuckBoxing said.
Prior to the race, DuckBoxing shared some worries about their cart's performance, particularly about the front steering position.
“Erby is going to be in the front steering, which is kind of scaring me... he hasn't even seen the cart yet," he said.
Nevertheless, the camaraderie among the squad reassured them.
"Our goal is not to wipe out necessarily. But you know, if we do, it's not the end of the world," DuckBoxing said.
After a single test run, the team loaded up the cart and drove to Salt Lake City, Utah to compete. Teams only have one chance to run down the hill, but are judged on speed and creativity.
After a thrilling run, which ended with a spectacular crash, the team reflected on their experience.
"I feel like it was the perfect run," DuckBoxing said, recounting how they managed to navigate a good portion of the track before their wipeout. “We got over two obstacles and a couple turns, and then we had an amazing crash.”
The enthusiastic crowd was a big fan of the Duck N' Suds team.
"People were just screaming and loving it... We were like minor celebrities in Utah for a little bit there," Cousta said.
Their memorable crash, rather than dampening spirits, only served to make the memory deeper.
“It definitely felt like a victory to me,” DuckBoxing said.
"Wrapping everything up, I started crying because it was just literally the best experience of my entire life," Trent added.
In the end, despite the mishaps, the bonds of friendship grew stronger.
“I wouldn't replace it for the world. I loved it every moment of it,” Castillo said.
Sometimes the journey is more rewarding than the destination.
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