The photo is real. The deadline was real. The wake-up call came after.
That's 24 cans of Red Bull. It's also only the beginning of the tower. By the time the project was done, there were more than 40.
A few years back, I took on a hard deadline. A client needed a System Security Plan written from scratch, and they needed it in two weeks. That kind of document is not something you sketch out over a long weekend — it's a serious technical and compliance lift, and the timeline was aggressive on purpose. I said yes anyway, because that's what I do. I take the challenge.
What you're looking at is the byproduct of those two weeks. I started stacking the empty cans on my desk. Not on purpose at first — just convenience. But after a few days, the stack became a thing. A daily reminder of what I was burning through to hit the deadline. By the end of the project, the tower was significantly taller than what's in this picture.
I delivered the plan on time. The client was happy. And then I sat down at that same desk, looked at the tower, and had a quiet moment with myself.
"The plan got delivered. The tower stayed standing. And I had to ask myself what it was actually costing me to hit deadlines like that."
Here's what most people get wrong about energy drink habits — I wasn't drinking 40+ Red Bulls in two weeks because I needed the caffeine. I never had trouble staying awake. I drank Red Bull because I genuinely liked the taste. Still do, if I'm being honest. There's a specific flavor in those cans that I had a real fondness for.
But staring at that tower, the math caught up with me. Whatever I told myself about I just like the taste, the receipts were telling a different story. That much sugar, that many synthetic stimulants, that often — that's not a preference. That's a pattern. And it wasn't going to age well.
So I made a switch. Not because I had to. Because I was ready to.
"It's not about restriction. It's about replacing whatever you've been settling for with something that actually meets you where you are now."
Coffee gave me everything Red Bull did and then some. The flavor is more complex, more satisfying. The ritual gives me something to do with my hands, with my morning, with my attention. And the bean itself rewards you the more you learn about it. There's no version of Red Bull you can grow with. There are infinite versions of coffee that you can.
The next time I had a hard deadline, the desk looked different. No tower. No graveyard of cans. Just a single ceramic cup, refilled when I needed it, with beans I had ground myself. The work still got done. It actually got done better — because the cup in front of me was something I respected, not something I was burning through.
"I didn't switch to coffee for the energy. I switched for the love of the craft. Energy drinks were a habit. Coffee became a practice."
I'm 46. I'm not the same guy who built that tower. I'm also not interested in giving up the experience of having something I genuinely enjoy in my hands first thing in the morning. I just upgraded the experience.
That's the story of Five Sixteen, in a way. The version of you who pays attention, who cares about the details, who treats a morning cup as part of a longer life — not just a fuel stop on the way to a deadline.
If you're still on the energy drink train, no judgment. I built a 24-can tower with extras. I was you. There's a better cup waiting for you when you're ready.