00:00 Adidas and Puma were founded by two brothers who spent many decades not speaking to each other, resulting in one of the most bitter family rivalries of all time.

04:36 Adolf Dessler, a villager in Herzoginnerach, Germany, starts making athletic shoes in his mother's laundry and quickly gains a reputation for creating shoes that athletes want.

09:22 Adolf Dessler asks his outgoing and extroverted older brother, Rudolph, to start selling his shoes, leading to the founding of the Dossler Brothers shoe company, which gains attention and success with the creation of high-quality athletic shoes, including track spikes worn by a German sprinter in the 1928 Olympics and Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics.

14:17 During World War II, the Dassler Brothers shoe factory in Germany switched from manufacturing shoes to producing the Panzerschreck, a German version of the bazooka, which proved to be effective against American tank divisions, but it was too late as the war was already turning in favor of the Allies.

19:07 The Dassler brothers' relationship began to fracture in 1933 when Adi's young wife tried to interfere with business matters, leading to a series of conflicts that culminated in a misunderstanding during World War II, causing Rudy to believe that Adi had betrayed him and resulting in their separation.

24:10 The Dassler brothers split up the company they built together, with Adi founding Adidas and Rudy founding Puma, and while Rudy initially had the advantage in sales and marketing, Adi's focus on high-quality footwear for athletes eventually led Adidas to surpass Puma.

28:56 Adidas has consistently outperformed Puma in terms of sales revenue, with one of Puma's early mistakes being a conflict with the German national soccer team coach that allowed Adidas to showcase their shoes at the 1954 World Cup, resulting in a significant victory for West Germany. Both Adidas and Puma also made mistakes by focusing too much on each other and neglecting the rise of Nike, which ultimately became the leader in sports apparel.

33:38 The rivalry between Adidas and Puma was so intense that it divided the town where the companies were located, with people only associating with others who supported the same brand and even the mayor having to remain neutral by wearing both Adidas and Puma gear.

38:09 The rivalry between Adidas and Puma ended with the families selling their businesses, and now Puma owns Reebok and Gucci owns Puma, while Adidas remains its own entity owned by a conglomerate, and one family member, Frank Dossler, now works for Adidas after previously working for Puma.

43:04 The podcast ends with a listener mail segment about sponges and their potential for medicinal use.