The unbelievable story of the two brothers who started Adidas and Puma and wound up bitter enemies

In the 1920s, the brothers were partners in the Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company, operating out of their mother’s laundry room in the small German town of Herzogenaurach. Adolf (“Adi”) Dassler was the quiet, thoughtful craftsman who designed and made the shoes, complemented by the older Rudolph (“Rudi”) who was the extroverted salesman. Although the brothers joined the Nazi party when Hitler seized power in 1933, it didn’t stop them getting legendary African-American track star Jesse Owens to wear their shoes as he competed and won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. Owens’ victory gave the shoes international exposure, and sales of the Dasslers’ product exploded.

During World War II when the Allies were bombing Herzogenaurach. As Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter already occupied by Rudi and his wife, he exclaimed, “The dirty b******s are back again,” referring to the Allied forces. Rudi was convinced the remark was directed at him and his family.

The conflict escalated as the brothers split the company in two in 1948, dividing the assets and the employees between themselves. Adi named his company “Adidas,” a combination of his first and last names. Rudi attempted the same by first naming his company “Ruda” but eventually changed it to the more athletic sounding “Puma.

This is how Adidas and Puma Born.