“I should confess. About two things. First, I can’t stand running. Second, I’m a rather mediocre shoemaker. I mean to say that making shoes isn’t exactly what I’m especially good at. Well, there—I've said it, and now I feel better. Although now the fact that this book is about the founder of the Reebok company may throw you off. I hope you’re at least a little intrigued too. It’s only natural.” The Reebok story began in 1900, when fifteen-year-old Foster Sr. accidentally invented studded running shoes because he was tired of being a loser on the track. A few years later, three world records were set in his shoes, and the best athletes in Great Britain chased him, asking him to make them the same. By founding “J. W. Foster,” the ancestor of Reebok, he was the first to come up with the idea of paying elite representatives to wear his shoes. In doing so, he was 30 years ahead of the similar marketing proposal by Adi Dassler. Almost 60 years later, his grandson, Joe Foster, built on his grandfather’s legacy and founded Reebok. At first, the company was housed in an abandoned brewery in a tiny town in the west of England. In the 1980s, Reebok became the main phenomenon across the entire sports world. Today it’s a multibillion-dollar company and the No. 1 sports brand. Like the international bestseller “The Shoe Dog,” written by Phil Knight of Nike, “The Inventor of Sneakers” is a story of triumph over every difficulty, told firsthand. This book isn’t just about business. It’s about a real passion for his craft, brilliant decisions, luck—and the fact that life has an excellent sense of humor.