How to tell the story of Vibe Rush, a new energy drink determined to take over Park City, then “the globe”? I decided the only way to fuel this writing session was to “feel the rush” myself, so I cracked a cold one.
I’m not an energy drink user, so I figured I’d stick to half a can — the whole 16 ounce can tops out at 200 mg of caffeine (a Red Bull of the same size has 148 mg of caffeine). Given that I’ve only ever tried a few sips of any energy drink, I’m more than a little nervous about the results. But I dutifully slurp back a mouthful of the “sweet gummy burst, electric citrus kick” that is the Citrus Candy flagship flavor — giving me the impression of drinking a melted down medley of Jolly Ranchers — and get to work.
If the iridescent can and lightning bolt logo don’t give a sense of Vibe Rush’s brand, then founders Patrick Parker, Chase Vance and Logan James certainly will.
Dripping in silver jewelry, sunglasses and tailored suit jackets, the men looked out of place in the fluorescent lit, khaki-colored conference room at The Park Record office, lounging on fabric chairs that were probably purchased in the 1980s.
But if they were bothered by the dated setting, their excitement masked it: This is their first interview for a news article, ever. It certainly won’t be the last, James, the company’s chief creative officer, assured.
“I’m stoked to fast forward two years when we’re on the cover of Forbes building this thing because I really believe that’s where we’re headed,” he said.
As a self-described “storyteller” in the world of marketing, James said Vibe Rush goes beyond being the next Red Bull competitor; it’s a movement, and it all started with Parker.
I take another long drag of Vibe Rush, now accustomed to the somehow zero-sugar sweetness. I’m about a third of the way down and hold my hand level above my keyboard to check for physical signs of jitters. Nothing yet. But internally I feel a little wired, like I can feel the vibe rushing through my veins. It’s probably just my imagination, but I take a sip of water.
Parker, the brand’s CEO, originally designed Vibe Rush for the Miami party scene. He absolutely looks the part from the movies: tanned skin and blown-back hair, skinny jeans with tall, chunky Doc Martens laced up his shins, a black knit quarter zip under a blue suit jacket, one earring in the shape of the Vibe Rush lightning bolt, the other the Prada logo, and a stack of silver chain necklaces.
What most wouldn’t guess is that he’s originally from Provo. So for Parker, launching Vibe Rush in Park City is like a return to his roots.
“Park City was always a special place for my family. We’d always take vacations, we’d come up here, we’d spend some weekends,” he said. “There’s just something about this place that’s always been intimate and special.”
Park City is “life elevated,” he said, and Vibe Rush is “life elevated in a bottle.” That’s what it’s designed for.
As a lifelong athlete, Parker started in track and field. In high school he set a national record for the 4×1600 meter relay in 2017, and won the Adidas Dream Mile later that year with a time of 4:03.99. He shaved a minute off that personal best in 2019 with a 4:02.95 while racing for BYU.
Later, he became interested in bodybuilding, ultimately his path to the “cracked out energy drink scene.” But his track and field training regimen stayed with him.
“Training day to day, I realized that, as an athlete, just like anyone who wants to be extreme or have a profession, you realize that the little things matter. They absolutely make a difference long term,” Parker said, “pre-race, post-race, pre practice, what are you eating, what are you doing … all these things that you can regulate and control to be the best.”
He cares a lot about ingredients and understanding how different components convert in the body and aid performance. Anyone who knows energy drinks knows they’re not exactly “clean” ingredients, he said.
That’s when he put his entrepreneurial management degree to use.
“I wanted to create something that was not currently seen in the market. I wanted to try to provide, instead of just energy, movement, momentum,” he said. “Why do people drink coffee? Why do people pick Rockstar (Energy) over Red Bull? A lot of it comes down to taste, overall experience. And what I tried to figure out was, if you want energy to really take care of you, you have to work with your body.”
Vibe Rush is packed with nootropics, or “smart drugs,” adaptogens, vitamins and even mushrooms, he said. It also uses green tea caffeine, which converts the cleanest in the body, which is why the 200 mg of caffeine works.
“People have drank (green tea) for thousands of years,” he said. “Green tea is very easy to extract and convert in your body.”
OK, just checking in. I must’ve blacked out because I’m now almost done with the entire 16 ounce Vibe Rush can. Still no shaking, but are colors seeming a little more vibrant? Maybe. I’m a coffee drinker, and a quick Google search says one Vibe Rush is about the caffeine content of two coffees, which I easily put down in a day. I’m significantly less concerned now.
Vance, the co-founder and chief brand officer for Vibe Rush, said that guilt-free energy is what hooked him on Parker’s product. He’s also the reason Vibe Rush is making its way through Park City.
“I did most of my growing up years in Ogden, but I was a ski racer, and when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, I had my first ski race here in Park City,” Vance said. “Even at that age, I remember driving into town, and I was like, ‘I’m going to live here when I grow up.’ It took 15, 16 years, but finally made it happen. In the middle of 2020, I moved to Park City, and now Park City is home.”
He said he still races big mountain ski sports, but recently he got into skijoring and even skeleton because “there is no thing that is more vibey and more rushy than skeleton,” Vance joked.
As an adventure athlete, Vance said he also cares about what goes in his body, but also wants sustainable energy, not something that will result in a crash or some kind of hangover the next day. In Park City there are plenty of people who feel the same way, he said.
“The athlete culture here, I mean, I would go out on a limb to say that Park City is the athlete city of the United States,” Vance said. “I fully believe that, both for summer sports and winter sports.”
He said that mixed with the high-end resort and hospitality world in town perfectly blends the drink’s audience: highly successful people who go hard and care about their bodies.
It’s why Vibe Rush’s first sales account was in the boutique at the St. Regis Deer Valley. Now it’s also at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, sold in its gift shop and the Double Blacks Cafe, and even as a mixer at Hidden Ace speakeasy.
The biggest challenge in expanding the brand’s reach in town has been “drink politics,” Vance said, where different groups in Park City have contracts with bigger corporations like Red Bull or Monster, owned by Coca Cola. It’s why they haven’t been able to get on shelves at the Utah Olympic Park yet, which Vance sees as an ideal audience.
One way around that is by releasing new products, like a pre-workout formulation, which Vance said is already in the works. They would have both caffeinated and a caffeine-free versions.
I’ve finished my Vibe Rush, and I’m actually a little sad about it. My water just doesn’t hit the same.
When it comes to marketing Vibe Rush in a town like Park City, all three guys said they want to model the right energy — pun definitely intended.
For James, that’s persistence.
“We’re not three kids just trying to sell lemonade out of an RV. We’re three dudes that know where our lane is,” he said. “We raise the vibe. We don’t ever burn a bridge. Somebody says no to us, that’s fine. We love you. God gots us.”
At least once a week they try to make a stop at different businesses on and around Main Street, which is how they got cans into Red Banjo Pizza and Davanza’s Pizza & More on Park Ave. There, the hope is for bartenders to get creative with cocktail recipes, like Red Banjo’s “Summer Peach” made with Vibe Rush, peach schnapps and Tito’s vodka.
The Vibe Rush team cheers with Shawnda Brooks, the spa director at The St. Regis Deer Valley, which carries the drink in its boutique shop. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record 
Red Banjo Pizza on Main Street is one of the local businesses carrying Vibe Rush, even selling it on their cocktail menu, mixed with vodka and peach schnapps. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record 
Josh Herrera, who works at Davanza’s Pizza & More, said they’ve begun selling the drink at their location on Park Avenue. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record 
Director of Spa and Wellness at Grand Hyatt Deer Valley Jocylene Codrington, center left, stands with the Vibe Rush co-founders. Credit: Photo courtesy of Vibe Rush
Going in person is also an important strategy, Vance added.
“We want to go meet them face to face, even if it takes time and time again,” he said. “We’re following up in person, time and time again, because we respect them.”
Respect is also part of the vibe: respecting people, and respecting yourself with what you put in your body.
Parker said he hopes this drink isn’t just motivating but it’s inspiring, a smoother, more even rush that also regulates the mind.
“If you’re up and euphoric and active, you don’t feel like you’re even having anything,” he said. “You just feel better for some reason, and then next thing you know, you’re five hours into something, you had the best day, you made the phone calls, you talked to this person, you had the meeting, you’re out later.”
James and Vance both can testify to that effect, and are confident the experience is catching.
“If we can raise that vibe of the planet, how do we do that?” said James. “We start with our city, then we conquer our state, then we move into a different region, and eventually we take over the nation, and maybe even the globe, who knows.”
Reporting in from the next morning: Was I awake until 1:30 a.m.? Yes, yes I was. My only regret is I didn’t put that late-night energy to use. I’ll admit, sleep deprivation doesn’t feel great, but I can’t help thinking that a Vibe Rush might be the perfect cure.