Chapter 1
Two brothers and a laundry room
Chapter 2
The great divide of 1948
Chapter 3
Herzogenaurach, the town of bent necks
Chapter 4
The battle for the world's feet
Chapter 5
A legacy sealed in rubber
YOUR GOAL
Master of The brotherly battle of the running shoes
Ch 1 · Two brothers and a laundry room
adidas Dassler Brothers' Laundry Room
We started making sneakers in our mama's laundry room, But then a bitter rivalry made both our empires bloom.
adidas Adolf crafts a leather shoe while Rudolf gestures dynamically in a warm workshop
Fun Fact
Laundry room beginnings: Before they had electricity, the Dassler brothers had to pedal a stationary bicycle to power their leather-cutting machines.
Glossary
laundry room (noun)
A room where clothes and household linens are washed and dried. Adolf Dassler began handcrafting his first athletic shoes in his mother's laundry room during the early 1920s.
A room where clothes and household linens are washed and dried. Adolf Dassler began handcrafting his first athletic shoes in his mother's laundry room during the early 1920s.
Quiz
What was Adi Dassler's primary role in the early years of the Dassler Brothers company?
Quiz
How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win wearing Dassler shoes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
Quiz
What was Rudolf Dassler's primary role in the early years of the Dassler Brothers company?
Quiz
Which American track star did Adi Dassler convince to wear his spiked shoes during the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
Quiz
In which German town did the Dassler brothers start their shoe-making business in the 1920s?
Quiz
What material did the Dassler brothers use to make shoe soles when leather was scarce in Germany after World War I?