History and background of Adidas. In 1925, in a small German village, the world got it's first taste of Adidas. It was there, in a village by the name of Herzogenaurach, located 12 miles to the north and the west of Nuremberg, that those simple three stripes were brought to life by adidas' founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. Adi created adidas after realizing the need for performance athletic shoes.