Phusion Projects was founded in 2005 by Chris Hunter, Jaisen Freeman and Jeff Wright after graduating from Ohio State University. As students they were active members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and many of their original drink blends were created in the fraternity mansion's basement and party room. They had enjoyed caffeine mixed with alcohol, and recalled buying Thai energy drinks from a nearby Asian market to sell to other students at a markup, claiming that they were "importing the stuff from abroad". They would later describe themselves as "our own target market".