Adidas and Puma – two giants of athletic footwear now known worldwide. But how did their bitter sibling rivalry shape the sneakers on your feet today?

Let’s uncover the dramatic feud between two German brothers that birthed an endless battle for sneaker supremacy. This is no ordinary shoe story.

Lace up and learn the nearly 100-year history behind these famous stripes and leaping cats.

Chapter 1: Bitter Brothers Divide

Our story begins in the 1920s with two brothers, Adolf “Adi” and Rudolf Dassler, making sports shoes in their mother’s laundry room in Germany.

Their modest business took off after equipping Jesse Owens for 4 Olympic golds in 1936. But growing resentment between the brothers soon reached a boiling point.

After years of infighting, Rudolf departed in 1948 to found Puma across town. Adi rebranded their original company as Adidas.

Almost instantly, a bitter rivalry was born. One small town couldn’t contain their titanic egos and ambition.

Chapter 2: Sibling Sabotage

Adi and Rudolf began viciously undercutting each other’s businesses out of spite.

The brothers sabotaged supply contracts, slashed prices to steal customers, and spread nasty rumors about product quality. They publicized scandals from the other’s personal life.

Each became obsessed with driving his brother out of business for good. The dirty war devastated their family, but their companies thrived under the constant pressure to innovate.

The Dassler feud fueled breakthrough designs and aggressive expansion that may never have happened otherwise. Competition brought out their best.

Chapter 3: Taking The Rivalry Global

By the 1960s, Adidas and Puma left their small town behind by taking their sneaker war worldwide.

Both companies aggressively expanded into the US, Asia, and beyond. The race was on to out-innovate and outmarket each other on every continent.

This period birthed timeless sneakers like the Adidas Superstar and Stan Smith along with Puma’s Suede and Clyde models. Athletic sponsorship deals became bidding wars.

The rivalry constantly forced innovation – new shoe tech, groundbreaking marketing, fresh athlete partnerships, and more. Each advance aimed to one-up the enemy brand.

Decades later, the global footwear battle rages on. Both companies are forever pushing boundaries to stay steps ahead.

Chapter 4: Rivalry Transcends Generations

Remarkably, the Dassler family feud continues across generations of distant cousins keeping the brands alive.

Marriages between Adidas and Puma clan members remain forbidden. The heirs’ identities stay deeply tied to whether their ancestors chose three stripes or a leaping cat.

The eternal competition between Adidas and Puma has grown far bigger than any personal beef between two ambitious brothers who couldn’t stand each other.

Their footwear rivalry has achieved a life and legacy of its own – the stuff that legends are made of. A story etched into the soles of sneaker culture.

Shop Legendary Adidas and Puma Kicks

Want to rep footwear history born from family drama yourself? Shop Adidas and Puma online for fresh kicks and apparel.

Adidas offers classics like Superstars plus performance shoes like UltraBoost designed to dominate sports.

Find Puma’s iconic Suedes upgraded stylishly along with new tech-loaded cleats and spikes for competition.

Wearing these icons on your feet continues an epic sneaker feud over 75 years old. Lace into legends today!