The fascinating story of the enemy brothers behind Adidas and Puma, whose rivalry shaped the modern sports business Adidas and Puma are two of the biggest global brands in sports, paying stars, clubs, and competitions to show off their labels in stadiums and across magazine pages. In Sneaker Wars, journalist Barbara Smit reveals the dramatic, character-driven story of these two powerhouses. Started in their mother’s laundry room in Germany, Adi and Rudi Dassler’s shoe business was an instant success. But a vicious feud soon pulled them apart: by the end of World War II, the brothers split the company, dividing their family and hometown. Adidas and Puma then revolutionized the world of sport, their rivalry introducing behind-the-scenes deals and multimillion-dollar contracts. A page-turning narrative, Sneaker Wars is a riveting blend of family drama, business, sports, and history. “What does David Beckham’s superstardom have to do with a pair of warring Bavarian brothers in the early 1900s? More than you think, according to this compelling book.” —  Time Magazine “Where was SNEAKER WARS when I was doing research for my own book! This book is great for understanding the ins and out of the industry, particularly for the two brands we used to call ‘the Germans’ back in the day.” - Bobbito Garcia, author of Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 “Smit brings a keen reporter’s eye to the schism between Puma and Adidas. The book also ably tells the broader story of the red-hot global sneaker trade.” - Conde Nast Portfolio “First-class piece of investigative reporting... enthralling narrative tale... invaluable contribution to our understanding of shoes, sports, corruption.” - David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero “An immensely readable romp through the history of Adidas, and thus also the story of international sport’s politics and the commercial colonization of events.” - The Independent “Barbara Smit deserves high praise.” - Sunday Telegraph “As a history of how so much of the world came to be shod in running shoes, SNEAKER WARS is a book you’ll read at a sprint. Drawing from dozens of interviews and stacks of documents, Ms. Smit reconstructs an anecdote-rich history of competition, commercialism and corruption.” - Wall Street Journal “What does David Beckham’s superstardom have to do with a pair of warring Bavarian brothers in the early 1900s? More than you think, according to this compelling book.” - Time Magazine Sneaker Wars is the fascinating true story of the enemy brothers behind Adidas and Puma, two of the biggest global brands of athletic footwear. Adi and Rudi Dassler started their shoe business in their mother's laundry room and achieved almost instantaneous success. But by the end of World War II a vicious feud had torn the Dasslers apart, dividing their company and their family and launching them down separate, often contentious paths. Out of the fires of their animosity, two rival sneaker brands were born, brands that would revolutionize the world of professional sports, sparking astonishing behind-the-scenes deals, fabulous ad campaigns, and multimillion-dollar contracts for pro athletes, from Joe Namath to Muhammad Ali to David Beckham. Barbara Smit has written for The Financial Times (London), The International Herald Tribune , The Economist , and Time , among other publications. She lives in France. Sneaker Wars The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sports By Barbara Smit HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Barbara Smit All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061246586 Chapter One the dassler boys Clutching a bulging duffel bag, a short young man walked confidently onto the Berlin Olympic training grounds. Surrounded by hundreds of spectacular athletes from all around the world, Adolf Dassler hardly caught anyone's attention. Yet the little man with the large bag was fully aware that this was his chance to shine. "Adi" and his elder brother, Rudi, had become established as the men behind Gebrüder Dassler, a Bavarian shoe factory that made some of the country's finest sports shoes. They had persisted with such drive that their factory was drawing sports enthusiasts from all around Germany, generating unprecedented hustle and bustle in their small town of Herzogenaurach, not far from Nuremberg, in the northern part of Bavaria. Controversial as they were, the Berlin Olympics, opening in the German capital in August 1936, would enable the Dassler brothers to spread their name much farther. It would yield formidable publicity for Gebrüder Dassler to get their spikes on the feet of any prominent athletes—and there was one whom Adi Dassler wanted to catch above all others. When it was established in the 1920s, the brothers' shoe business put an end to their family's many