On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, Puma has announced that it will celebrate its motto “Forever Faster“ – which is based on company founder Rudolf Dassler’s intention to give his athletes the agility and performance of a big cat – with various events.

Dassler founded the “Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler” in his hometown of Herzogenaurach, Germany, in 1948. With only 14 employees, he laid the foundation for what would later become the world capital of modern sportswear. The company is still headquartered in Dassler’s hometown today.

In a press release dated Feb. 16, Puma said: “From the spikes that helped Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, set his world records and which powered Merlene Ottey, Shericka Jackson, Heike Drechsler and many others to World Championship titles, to the tennis rackets with which a 17-year-old Boris Becker conquered Wimbledon, or the football boots in which legendary players such as Diego Maradona or Pelé scored their many goals: Puma has forever stood with the world’s most successful athletes.”

Events are also expected to look beyond the pure sports realm by also recognizing Puma’s influence on culture. For example, the Suede shoe’s place in hip-hop culture and more recent fashion collaborations with Rihanna, Jil Sander or Alexander McQueen.

Adam Petrick, Puma’s chief brand officer, said: “We are extremely proud of our 75 years of history in which we have pushed sports and culture forward, and we want to share this amazing story in 2023.”

The first event to mark the 75th anniversary will be held at the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain.

Puma is also set to launch 10,000 NFT pieces to celebrate its big anniversary. The mint date is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2023, at 15:00 UTC. The designs shall be influenced by the comics collection “Super Puma,’ which first appeared as a comic book protagonist in the 1970s. In addition, the company’s new avatar series will feature the brand’s greatest iconic sporting moments over the last 75 years. ”Puma’s growing Web3 community played an important role in the launch of this new project,” Petrick said. ”We listened to what our community wanted, and the Super Puma PFP NFT is the result of that. It’s a great project to kick off our 75th anniversary […].”

 

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