1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbaumb here with another episode from our archives. This 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: one tells the strange true story of how a family 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: feud in Germany led to the parallel creation of Adidas 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: and Puma, which are now in competition is the second 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: and third largest sneaker companies in the world. Hey brain Stuff, 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and I'm here today to talk about 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: how family feuds can change the world. For example, if 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: only two. 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 2: Brothers named Oddi and Rudy Dossler had learned to get along, 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 2: Germany's Gobruder Dossler might have bested Nike, is the world's 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: top sports footwear company today. Instead, the brother's bitter feuding 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 2: resulted in the Gobruder Dossler brand that's German for Dossler 14 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 2: brothers being split in half and reborn as Adidas and Puma, 15 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 2: which today are the world's second and third top sports 16 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 2: shoe businesses. Adolf or I Dossler began making shoes in 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 2: his mother's laundry room shortly after returning home to the 18 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 2: Bavarian village of Hetzkunocha following World War One. His business 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 2: did well, and his older brother Rudolph or Rudy Dossler 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 2: joined him a few years later to help shy. Oddi 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 2: was the creative force and brains behind the business, while 22 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 2: extroverted Rudy was the salesman. The brothers Dossler soon gained 23 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 2: acclaim for rolling out the first track spikes. The company 24 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 2: really took off after the brothers persuaded American Olympic athlete 25 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: Jesse Owens to wear their shoes in the nineteen thirty 26 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 2: six Berlin Olympics. He did, and he won four gold 27 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 2: medals while doing so. Yet it wasn't quite the triumph 28 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 2: it should have been for the brothers, as things were 29 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 2: beginning to sour between the two. The bad blood had 30 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 2: started a few years earlier in nineteen thirty three, when 31 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 2: ADDIE's sixteen year old wife tried to interfere in the business. 32 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 2: Rudy was not pleased. It didn't help that Oddi's and 33 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 2: Rudy's families lived together in the same town home, and 34 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 2: their wives didn't really get along. But the breaking point 35 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: came during a World War II air raid. Ruddy and 36 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 2: his family were tucked into a bomb shelter and as 37 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: Addi and his family entered. Oddi said, the dirty bastards 38 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 2: are back again. He was purportedly commenting on the Royal 39 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 2: Air Force planes roaring overhead, but Rudy was positive Oddi 40 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 2: was referring to his family. From there, things quickly unraveled. 41 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 2: When Rudy was called up to serve in the Nazi 42 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: military in nineteen forty three, he was sure that Oddi 43 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,239 Speaker 2: had arranged it to have him sent away from the factory. 44 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 2: Anxious to get back, Rudy deserted his post in nineteen 45 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 2: forty five. Later, when arrested for desertion, he again blamed Addi, 46 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,679 Speaker 2: who it appears did snitch on him. After a few 47 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 2: more scuffles, the two split up the company in nineteen 48 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 2: forty eight, moving assets and employees into one of two 49 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 2: competing operations located on opposite sides of the Roof River 50 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 2: that flowed through the town. Oddi renamed his business Adidas, 51 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 2: combining his first and last names. Rudy did the same, 52 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 2: dubbing his Ruda, though he later changed it to Puma. 53 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 2: Soon most of the town's citizens were employed by either 54 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 2: Adidas or Puma, and these siblings intense rivalry spread throughout 55 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 2: the town. If you worked for one company, you did 56 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 2: not socialize with employees of the other. Marrying across enemy 57 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 2: lines was strictly foreboden. You only shopped in the stores 58 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 2: on the same side as the river as the factory 59 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 2: in which you were employed. Over time, Adidas far surpassed 60 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 2: Puma in sales thanks to Audi's creativity and technical acumen, 61 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 2: though Puma also did quite well. But while the two 62 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 2: were hard at work competing against one another, they paid 63 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 2: no attention to another shoe company, Nike, that was quietly 64 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 2: gaining market share. Today, Nike is king of the sports 65 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 2: shoe business with twenty seventeen sales of twenty one billion 66 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 2: dollars compared to Adidas's ten billion dollars and Puma's two billion. 67 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 2: The brothers did speak to one another a few times 68 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 2: later in life, but they never reconciled. Both died in 69 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 2: the nineteen seventies and were buried at opposite ends of 70 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 2: the local cemetery. Their feud finally ended in two thousand 71 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 2: and nine when employees of both companies played together in 72 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: a friendly soccer match. Nonetheless, the Dossler Brothers epic fight 73 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,119 Speaker 2: was named by Time. Mack scene is one of history's 74 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 2: top ten family feuds, alongside such notables as Canaan Abele 75 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 2: and the Hatfields and McCoy's. Today's episode is based on 76 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 2: the article the family Feud that spawned Adidas and Puma 77 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 2: on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by Melanie Redzeeky McManus. 78 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 2: Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership 79 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 2: with how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. 80 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 2: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the Airheartradio app, 81 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.