Adolf Dassler

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Adolf "Adi" Dassler (November 3, 1900 in Herzogenaurach (Germany) - September 6, 1978 in Herzogenaurach), mainly known as Adi Dassler, is the founder of the German sportswear company Adidas.

Trained as a baker, Adi Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen after his return from World War I. His father, Christoph, who worked in a shoe-factory, and the brothers Zehlein, who produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in their blacksmith's shop, supported Dassler in starting his own business, Adidas (Adi Dassler). In 1924, his brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business. Rudolf later went on to found business rivals Puma. At the 1928 Olympics, Adidas equipped several athletes, laying the foundation for the international expansion of the company. In May, 1933, Dassler joined the NSDAP. He was a devoted national-socialist and was recruited to serve in the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. During the 1936 Summer Olympics, Dassler equipped gold medal winner Jesse Owens with his shoes. In 1973, Adi's son Horst Dassler founded Arena, a producer of swimming equipment. After Adolf Dassler's death in 1978, his son and his wife Käthe took over the management. adidas was transformed into a private limited company in 1989, but remained family property until its IPO in 1995.