As we look at the sneaker world today we can see the most popular retailers are Nike, Adidas, Asics, Puma and Under Armour. Most people don't realize there was a time where Adidas rained supreme and Nike was non-existstent in the sportswear community. Even more astounding is the relationship between two brands Adidas and Puma.
The two men who created Adidas and Puma were brothers born in Germany Rudolf and Dolf Dassler.Adolf or Adi was the designer and Rudolf was the business side of the shoe company. Adi introduced spikes to the traditional track shoe which was revolutionary for the sport. The brothers were connected to a track coach who presented the shoes to Linda Radke. Linda was able to win gold the 800m race in the 1928 Olympics. By 1930 their trainers became very popular and many german athletes were sporting Adi and Rudolfs sneakers through the nation.
In 1936 the Olympics would be held in Berlin, Germany. This was the perfect time to introduce this shoe to the world. They approached Jesse Owens who went on two win four Olympic gold medals and catapult their shoe company into the stratosphere. At one point the brothers were had sold upward to 200,000 sneakers which is remarkable for the time.
In the 1940's there was a major world war and many factories were shut down. The company was allowed to function under the supervision of Nazi presence and specifically manufactured for the Nazi regime. At this time Maris a sister of the brothers pledged to have her sons work for the company which would prevent them from begin drafted. Rudolf was power crazy and refused. This led to the death of his two nephews. The family tension was mounting and Adi was drafted in 1940 but granted a leave to tend to the factory and Rudolf was drafted in 1943. Rudolf spent this time mad with rage believing his brother was responsible for his drafting and his new wife supported this idea. The two were now at war in the midst of a major world war taking place right in their backyard.
Rudolf devised a plan and left his post but was later arrested in Gestapo. By the time the war was over he was released from prison but did not have full rights of the company. As a result the company was Adi's who lived on one side of the town and Rodulf or Rudi who lived on the opposite side. The two brothers had become rivals with Adi going on to name the company Adidas and Rudi developing his own company under several names but wha is known today as Puma. The town of Herzogenaurach which is called “the town of bent necks” because everyone first checked to see which shoes you were wearing. Adidas is now the second highest grossing shoe company at 13.7 billion and Puma is fourth at 2.9 billion.
Graphic Created by Taino Flores
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