Red Bull is the king of the energy drink industry.

It sells upwards of 4 billion cans each year and dominates its main competitors Monster and Rockstar with a 40 percent market share. Red Bull now has a presence in more than 160 countries around the world and it employs around 8,000 people.

The man behind Red Bull's meteoric rise is Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. He came up with the idea in 1982 while sitting at a bar in Hong Kong's Mandarin Hotel when he learned about the popular "tonic drinks" in Asia.

Here's how he and his Thai partner, Chaleo Yoovidhya, came up with Red Bull and made it such a huge success.