She Started Bouldering at 21. Five Years Later, Renee Tan Is a Red Bull Athlete

When Renee Tan took up bouldering at 21, becoming a national athlete wasn't part of the plan.

She'd tried climbing once when she was younger, during an introductory top-rope session, but it wasn't until years later, when her sister encouraged her to try a newly opened bouldering gym, that the sport really clicked.

“I really liked that it was physical, but also problem-solving based,” Renee says. “You can be super strong, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can climb something if you haven't figured out the movement.”

Fast-forward five years and Renee has represented Malaysia at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) University Games, Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), competed internationally on the Climbing World Cup circuit (including the IFSC Boulder World Cup 2024 & 2025 and the World Climbing ASIAN Championship Meishan 2026) and become a Red Bull athlete.

But her journey is proof that potential doesn't always follow a traditional pathway, and that you don't need to have everything figured out before you start. For Renee, that journey started simply by finding something she loved and seeing where it could take her.

It's an idea at the heart of Red Bull Next Generation, which is looking for emerging athletes age 18-25 in Malaysia and Indonesia with the potential and ambition to take the next step in their sporting journey.

Through access to expert coaching, guidance and development opportunities, athletes get the chance to learn from people who can help them progress, backed by the experience, platform and visibility of Red Bull. Because sometimes taking the next step isn't just about training harder. It's about having the right people in your corner, opening up new opportunities and helping others see the potential that's already there.

Ready to see where your sport could take you? Discover Red Bull Next Generation and apply today.

From a first competition to representing Malaysia

Renee took up bouldering at 21 years old. Less than a year later, after people around her noticed how quickly she was progressing, she entered her first novice competition, and won.

From there came more competitions, an opportunity to represent Malaysia at the ASEAN University Games, national events and eventually international competition. But there was never one defining moment when she decided she was going to become a professional athlete.

“I never really saw myself as a professional athlete immediately,” she says. “It was something I slowly grew into rather than something that was planned.”

Renee studied engineering and hadn't grown up knowing what the pathway to elite sport was supposed to look like. She simply kept following the thing she enjoyed and taking the next opportunity as it came.

“I never knew climbing could bring me to World Cups or the SEA Games, or eventually represent Malaysia,” she says. “I think it's okay to start without knowing where something is going to take you. You don't have to have your entire career mapped out. You just need to keep taking the next steps.”

Learning to take yourself seriously

Progress didn't mean everything suddenly became easy. For Renee, one of the biggest challenges wasn't physical. It was learning to believe she belonged.

“One of my biggest challenges was trying to take myself seriously before anyone else did,” she says. There were questions she couldn't immediately answer: Was she good enough? Was all the work going to lead anywhere?

Without an established pathway to follow, much of Renee's development came from simply showing up, climbing, learning from the people around her and gradually understanding what she needed to improve.“My friends were definitely my main teachers when I was starting out,” she says.

As competitions became more serious, so did her approach. She began building her own training schedules, sought coaching and learned more about the physical and mental preparation required to compete.

That ability to keep moving forward without external validation became part of her development as an athlete. “I really learned the resilience to keep showing up even when there isn't much external validation yet.”

Your timeline is your own

Starting later also brought another challenge: comparison. Renee would find herself climbing alongside much younger athletes who had already spent years in the sport. “I'd look at kids and think, ‘Wow, they're already starting so young.’”

Eventually, she realised that focusing on somebody else's timeline wasn't helping her own. “I can't change when I started, but I can decide what I do with the time I have now.”

Her results began reinforcing that belief. From reaching a national final early in her competitive journey, she continued progressing through the rankings and proving to herself that starting later didn't have to determine where she could finish.

“Just because someone else started earlier doesn't mean that I can't work hard to achieve something. My journey is just different from theirs.”

It's a message she now wants younger athletes to understand too: just because you started later doesn't mean you're behind.

The work nobody sees

For most people, an athlete's journey becomes visible at the competition, on the podium or when they're selected to represent their country. Renee knows there is much more happening outside those moments.

“Most people see the exciting parts: the competitions, travelling, podiums, representing a country, but they don't really see everything else that's behind the scenes.”

There is training, recovery, strength and conditioning, nutrition, managing injuries and preparing mentally to perform. For Renee, the mental side has been particularly important.

She has worked on managing her expectations around competition and recognising progress beyond simply winning or losing, something she admits remains a work in progress.

“Sometimes it's not your time, but you still need to think about what you did well that day,” she says. “Maybe in that competition there was something you improved on. What's the small win you can take away from it?”

It is part of a wider shift in how she thinks about success. “Before, success was very much about results, winning, making finals or getting stronger,” she says. “Now it's more about trying to become someone I'm proud of. Of course I still want to win, but I want to see how far I can push myself.”

What it means to be a Red Bull athlete

Today, Renee has Red Bull in her corner, something she says has meant much more than having a logo on her shirt.

“It's definitely given me a lot of exposure and opportunities,” she says. From seeing herself on billboards to receiving support around international competitions, becoming a Red Bull athlete has given Renee a bigger platform from which to continue building her career.

For a sport like climbing, which often doesn't always receive the same visibility as more mainstream sports, that platform has been particularly meaningful.

“I'm grateful for the belief they have in me as an athlete,” she says. “Having a brand like Red Bull that believes in me really gives me a platform to keep growing.”

That support has extended beyond competition too. As Renee explores coaching alongside her own athletic career, Red Bull has supported her development towards becoming a qualified fitness coach, another step in figuring out where sport might take her next.

For Renee, it's another example of what can happen when someone sees an athlete's potential and helps create opportunities around it.

Supporting potential before everyone else sees it

When Renee looks back at her own journey, what stands out is how much of the work happened before the recognition arrived. “Recognition comes when the work has already been done,” she says. “By the time everyone knows an athlete's name, they've already spent years training, competing, failing and sacrificing before they got there.”

“Sometimes athletes just need the opportunity and support to prove what they're capable of.”

That's the thinking behind Red Bull Next Generation: identifying emerging athletes earlier in their journey and giving them access to expertise, coaching and development opportunities that can help them progress.

Open to athletes aged 18–25 across sports in Malaysia and Indonesia, the programme is designed for young people with potential and ambition who may not yet have reached professional or mainstream recognition. It's about having the right people in your corner, building the skills and knowledge to move forward, and getting the opportunity to see how far your potential could take you.

For Renee, whose own path began without a clear roadmap, the message to athletes finding their way is simple: “Don't rush your journey just because you think everyone else is ahead. Keep trying, make mistakes, ask for help and change your mind if you need to.”

“You don't need to know where you're going every time. You just need to focus on becoming a little better than you were yesterday and keep showing up.”

Because potential doesn't always follow a timeline.

You're already putting in the work. We want to help you take the next step. If you're an athlete aged 18–25 in Malaysia or Indonesia, Red Bull Next Generation wants to hear from you. Your journey doesn't have to be figured out yet. Start it with us.

Apply for Red Bull Next Generation