An Amazing Idea
While he’d been working with his dad and learning all about shoes, Adi learned something very important: he discovered that different shapes and styles of shoes could actually enhance an athlete’s performance, giving them an edge over the competition.
The founder of the German sportswear company Adidas, Adolf Dassler, is pictured in his office in Herzogenaurach in the year 1975. Photo by Karl Schnoerrer/picture alliance via Getty Images
He started to develop his own idea from this discovery: what if specialized shoes were made for individual sports, with each one designed for a specific activity and offering increased performance to the players and athletes? It was a new idea at the time, and it would form a big part of his and his brother’s later success.