Rudolf Dassler

Who was Rudolf Dassler?

Rudolf Dassler was the German founder of the sportswear company PUMA and the older brother of Adidas founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adi started, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. Rudi joined in 1924, however the brothers became rivals following World War II and started their own companies in 1948.

Initially calling the new company "Ruda", it was soon changed to its present name of Puma. Puma is the word for cougar in German as well as other languages, such as Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Polish, Slovene and Swedish.

Adolf Dassler started to produce sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen after his return from World War I. His father, Christoph, who worked in a shoe factory, and the brothers Zehlein, who produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in their blacksmith's shop, supported Adolf in starting his own business. In 1924, Rudolf joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. Rudolf was affectionately known as 'Bobby' due to the fact that this was the only sound that he could make for the first three years of his life.