In the 1920s, the brothers were partners in the Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company, operating out of their mother’s laundry room in the small German town of Herzogenaurach. Adolf (“Adi”) Dassler was the quiet, thoughtful craftsman who designed and made the shoes, complemented by the older Rudolph (“Rudi”) who was the extroverted salesman. Although the brothers joined the Nazi party when Hitler seized power in 1933, it didn’t stop them getting legendary African-American track star Jesse Owens to wear their shoes as he competed and won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. Owens’ victory gave the shoes international exposure, and sales of the Dasslers’ product exploded.