7 Question Interview with Andrew Rothacker
Andrew Rothacker has taken it upon himself to spread the word about SURGE and SaveSURGE.org as much as he can. He's so dedicated to spreading the word that he even spent an evening with his friends posting SaveSURGE.org Flyers on every Coke machine he could find! Not to mention that 6' tall green man in his room and his incredible contributions to this site. Below he talks about his induction into the SaveSURGE.org Hall of Fame:

1. Tell us about your first time...drinking SURGE, that is!
My older brother and I drank MD until SURGE came out. We had just been really getting into MD, when all of a sudden there was another highly-caffeinated soda to try. I tried it, and liked it. I made the switch gradually from MD to SURGE, but now after drinking SURGE for a long time I can't stand the taste of MD.

2. What is it that separates SURGE from every other beverage?
SURGE is the only soda that has come out in a long time that has a truly unique flavor. Cherry Coke/Pepsi, Vanilla Coke/Pepsi and the like don't have a new flavor. It's just an addition to an old flavor, and then it is copied by all the other soda companies. SURGE combines the lemon lime citrus along with an orange taste that combines quite nicely. There's also some other flavors in there that make it blend to perfection. While the flavor is crisp, it doesn't bite your tongue with too much carbonation, which makes it easier to drink. Also, Coke introduced the wide-mouth can with SURGE, another feature that made it easily drinkable, and is now copied by every other soda.

3. Do you have a favorite SURGE-related memory?
When I think of SURGE, I think of the golden years of my high school days. Those were some of the best years of my life, and SURGE was there through it all and helped make it great.

4. How has SURGE changed your life?
Well, it has changed the way I live in my bedroom. Whenever I do anything in my room, I have to do it around all of my SURGE memorobilia. Also, whenever I meet any one new (like when I met my girl), I have to say, "There's something you should know about me: I have a 6' man made out of SURGE cans living in my room." I usually get some pretty good reactions from that. And I spend a lot more of my time trying to bring it back and that just rearranges my schedule sometimes.

5. If Doug Daft, the CEO of Coca-Cola, were sitting across from you right now, what would you say to convince him to bring SURGE back to every store in America?
I'd probably tell him everything that I have already written Coke about, which if I wrote down here would be pages long. So, short version: Fight citrus with citrus, SURGE is the only soda you have that can answer to MD. Plus, there are thousands of people out there that want to buy it. You have to make a decision and stick with it. Consistancy is the key to success. Flexibility is good, but flexibility doesn't mean cutting off a soda every two years, it means being willing to change your marketing approach. Etc.

6. What gives you hope that SURGE will be brought back?
This site and all of the people that come to it give me hope. Not to mention all of the people I talk to that say, "I loved SURGE, what ever happened to it?" (I then proceed to direct them here) I would have given up hope a long time ago if it wasn't for this site.

7. Lastly, why do you think you are being inducted into the SaveSURGE.org Hall of Fame?
I think it might have something to do with the SURGE MAN. But also because I share a dedication to this soda and this site that runs pretty deep. I'm willing to, and have gone, the extra mile to try to bring back SURGE. Really, I think most everyone belongs in the Hall of Fame, because we all care about SURGE and are fighting to bring it back. Thanks for your decision to induct me, I'm honored.

Back to Andrew's Hall of Fame Home