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30 interesting facts about Adidas
Adidas, the German footwear manufacturer, celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2019.
After 70 years into the game, the franchise is still more relevant than ever with the addition of influential flavor makers like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams into their stacks.
While still in direct competition with rival Nike, Adidas tried to draw attention to the brand with new and improved designs from world-renowned designer Jeremy Scott,
In this article, we will explore 30 facts about Adidas that every self-proclaimed sneaker expert should know.
‘Stan Smith’, Adidas's most iconic sneakers, was originally intended to be named after Robert Haillet, the famous French tennis star, not Stanley Smith.
There is a park in Boston known locally as the "Adidas Park" where the use of Adidas branded sneakers is not allowed.
Adidas almost avoided bankruptcy in the 90s after the brand made poor strategic decisions.
Although the brand is often associated with Hip Hop, it is also known for its innovations in the basketball world.
The Trefoil logo for which the brand is known also has a meaning aside from the look.
Originally, this brand was not called Adidas, was a castle of its founder named Adi Dassler, but was started under the name Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in 1924.
Designer Jeremy Scott, who now has his full line of Adidas sneakers, began collaborating with the brand years before Adidas produced a Forum Hi version of the Forum Hi sneaker featuring the designer face.
While Adidas' current collection has sneakers for almost any sport, the first Adidas boots were spiked boots made specifically for athletics.
Iconic rap group Run DMC received endorsement contracts after they performed in New York's Madison Square Garden.
The brand's line of EQT sneaker was originally regarded as a status symbol, similar to how Jordan sneakers are today.
Adidas was the first to incorporate microchips into their sneakers.
The brand's stripes, perhaps the most recognizable aspect of the branding, were originally placed on sneakers for reasons of stability, not design.
Nike has been trying to prevent Adidas from releasing its own woven upper sneakers, which is a big trend right now.
Music CEO Russell Simmons came up with the concept for the song "my Adidas" while standing on the PCP.
The brand creator Adi Dassler had no intention of selling sneakers at first.
Adidas was not called Adidas until the late 1940s. The Adidas name came about after Dassler and his brother had a dispute.
Adidas sued Payless ShoeSource in 2008 for releasing a pair of 4-striped sneakers instead of 3. It eventually settled for a $ 305 million.
Adidas has provided legendary BMX racers Ryan Nyquist and Dave Mirra with their own signature sneakers to increase its popularity among BMX riders.
Adidas is the parent company of Taylor Made, Rockport and Reebok.
Michael Jordan, the world famous basketball player and six-time NBA champion, almost joined Adidas before signing with Nike.
Jesse Owens wore an Adidas pair when he won a gold medal during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Munich.
‘Adidas Superstar’, originally for basketball, became extremely popular with skateboarders in the early 90s.
The Adidas Superstars were originally not made in Germany, but in France.
Adidas created the special ‘Adilette’ to protect football players from diseases they can get while bathing.
The partnership between Matt Bonner, the red-haired San Antonio Spurs striker and Adidas first started after Bonner publicly complained on Twitter about rival sneaker brand New Balance not sending him products anymore.
The Adidas Tubular line of sneakers is actually inspired by car tires and the "tubular snake" was originally created to emulate their tires and track.
A pair of Adidas 'jeans' sneakers were introduced, but interestingly, they did not feature any denim.
Adidas is currently the number one brand in the football world with more than $ 2.7 billion in football revenue in 2014.
Horst Dassler, son of Adi Dassler, was the one who initially approached gold medalist Mark Spitz to put on his shoes.
The split between the Dassler brothers was likely due to an interesting misunderstanding in World War II.
After years of playing second best after Nike, Adidas is slowly regaining its position by regaining the youth market in the US and the world.
One thing is for sure, as a brand Adidas will continue to evolve and we can expect more new groundbreaking shoes to hit shelves in the near future.
