Athletes and advertising seems so synonymous these days that it can be hard to imagine a time when the two didn't go hand in hand. But everything has to start somewhere. And in this case it all started with a small German shoe company that grew into the global corporate megaliths Adidas and Puma. The inner-family grudge that divided the original company in two may have started with brothers Adi and Rudolf Dassler, but it came to its existential conclusion with their sons: Horst and Armin. Be sure to watch Chris Silber's excellent series of films about the Dassler brothers: Rivals Forever. And read Naomi Braithwaite's fascinating research into shoe design. Hosted by Bridget Todd Written by James Levine Editing & Sound Design by Pete Musto Produced by Benjamin Austin-Docampo Created by Executive Producer Jeremiah Tittle Find out more about all of Next Chapter Podcasts' incredible content at ncpodcasts.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices