Adolf adi dassler biography

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Rudi went off to fight, while Adi remained to manage the family business.

Post-War Struggles and Company Split

When Germany lost the war, Adi faced his own share of national disaster. The weight of the newer models was cut in half with each shoe tipping the scale at only 140 grams. But within a few months, Addas became Adidas (an abbreviation of Adi Dassler), and Ruda adopted the name of the jungle cat Puma.

In 1956, he signed an agreement with the Olympic Committee to advertise Adidas at the Melbourne Games. Soon, they were able to buy the factory they had been renting, and the entire family moved into a mansion nearby.

Olympic Aspirations

Adi no longer remembered his brief aspiration to become a baker. Adolf Dassler died of heart failure in 1978, leaving behind a thriving company with a turnover of over $500 million that sold not only clothing and accessories but also 45 million pairs of shoes in 150 models annually.

Family Feuds

The Dassler family business was not to be.

In 1963, several athletes asked if he could produce a practical shoe they could wear in the locker room or, better yet, even in the shower. Adi’s business competitors sought to address the problem by constructing shoes with a multitude of fine needles (Brush Shoes) but the Olympic Committee banned this type of shoe due to the increased chance of injury to the athletes.

Contemporary long track spikes were no longer suitable because they penetrated too deeply and remained lodged in the new surface. Adolf’s nickname was ‘Adi’ and he renamed the business ‘Adidas’ – i.e. His sisters and mother made patterns from canvas. In 1950, he developed football boots designed for play in adverse conditions such as snow and frozen ground.

Adi named his company Addas, while Rudi named his Ruda. The Dassler family fell on hard times. In 1927, the Dasslers rented an entire building for their factory. With the support of his brother, Rudolf Dassler, Adolf established the “Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory” in 1924. This crossover into popular culture has only grown stronger in the years following Dassler’s death, with “Adidas” becoming a favorite among musicians, artists, and fashion enthusiasts.

Adolf Dassler’s legacy is one of relentless innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an unwavering commitment to quality.

He trained as a shoemaker and when he returned to Herzogenaurach after military service in the First World War began to make sports shoes, for some of which spikes were provided by a local blacksmith. Adi, his older brother Rudolf (or Rudi as he was known), and their father cut the shoes.

The family's first products were bedroom slippers, with uppers made from discarded military uniforms and soles carved from old car tires.

Throughout this creative process, he approached his work in a precise, earnest, structured and always creative manner.

At a party, he met Willy Seltenreich, the owner of a textile factory. The nation was ecstatic, as it was the first time Germany had been victorious since World War II. Adi was present at the decisive matches in Bern, personally overseeing the adaptation of the players' boots to the pitch and weather conditions using his new technology of removable studs.

This victory inspired Adi to place advertising directly in stadiums.

The Americans left after a year, and brother Rudi returned from a prisoner-of-war camp.

The brothers had to rebuild their business from almost nothing.