As the roster of athletes from countries far and wide took to the floor in Miami back in January, we saw that more and more competitors were sporting the Adidas Dropset training shoe.
Adidas’ growing presence in the world of fitness is significant. It is yet another non-endemic brand that has entered and invested in the competitive fitness space, this one backed by 70 years of sports experience and expertise.
While in Miami, we met with the Adidas team, chatted with them about their emergence into the CrossFit ecosystem, and witnessed the Adidas athlete experience first-hand.
It was an inspiring meeting, sitting with a brand that has had significant influence over so many sports for decades. The way they treated their athletes was impressive, to say the least, providing them with a space to relax and unwind — the penthouse of the 1 Hotel in Miami Beach, no less — food, drinks, quiet spaces, and transportation to and from South Beach.
- This was, we agreed, professional athletes being treated like professional athletes.
Some background: Adidas was founded in Germany in 1949 by Adi Dassler and has since become an iconic name in fitness and sports, along with having a significant influence on culture, music, fashion, and sustainability worldwide.
In our small corner of competitive fitness, we first noticed Laura Horvath repping Adidas when she took the floor in Event 5 at the French Throwdown in 2024, mobbing her way through heavy snatches wearing green Handball Spezial shoes.
This inspired quite a few double-takes (not to mention DMs), as people wondered if she was considering a partnership with the German brand and who else was on the roster.
The answer was yes, she was an Adidas athlete, along with nine others.
The Primer: Just weeks ago, nine of the 10 Adidas athletes headed to the company’s headquarters for the first annual Adidas “Primer,” a training camp of sorts. A handful of Adidas staff and managers also joined the athletes, and we were invited to take a behind-the-scenes look.
- The elite athlete guest list included Laura Horvath, Jonne Koski, Jorge Fernandez, Bill Leahy, Ty Jenkins, Kaique Cerveny, Bethany Flores, Jennifer Muir, and Ella Wilkinson. Haley Adams was unable to attend, as she was throwing down in Cookeville, TN, for the CrossFit Open 25.1 Announcement.
Over the course of a week, athletes were housed on-site in Herzogenaurach, Germany, at the heralded Adidas “Home Ground.” This is a closed, intimate facility comprised of bungalows, a restaurant, a physical therapist facility, meeting rooms, saunas, cold plunges, and a lounge reserved for Adidas athletes, teams, and VIP guests.
While there, we trained, ate, and attended sessions focused on mental health and nutrition.
We had the chance to see upcoming drops of footwear and training apparel and meet the brilliant minds behind the brand. Athletes took part in biometric testing sessions, the results of which, they said, would be invaluable to their future training.
A diverse roster: Like many of the brand’s decisions, the athlete roster was selected after methodical contemplation. The athletes range in their competitive experience, age, accolades, and career stage.
- Koski represents a decade of CrossFit Games experience, while young guns Jenkins, Wilkinson, Muir, and Leahy have yet to reach the final stage of the CrossFit season.
- Fernandez has won an Affiliate Cup, while Horvath earned the coveted title of Fittest on Earth in 2023.
In selecting their athletes, a spokesperson shared with us that Adidas is proud to partner with people across all stages of their careers in this sport, with diverse goals and backgrounds.
What they’re saying: It was a common sentiment amongst the athletes that their week in Germany was something out of a dream.
- “It’s an absolute privilege,” Bethany Flores shared with us while there. “We are being treated like professional athletes; it’s incredible… and I feel so lucky.”
- Ty Jenkins was anxious to take back his biometric testing results and apply it all to his training.
- “This is something we would never be able to do without the help of Adidas,” he said. “These opportunities are something that we would never normally have.”
After each training session, shared meal, and walk through the Adidas campus, there was a collective buzz among the athletes, with a few bemoaning the fact that they’d soon be on a plane heading back home. The unique nature of this opportunity wasn’t lost on any of them — they knew they were in a spot most athletes can only dream about.
We asked an Adidas spokesperson how they would measure success after the inaugural Adidas Primer. They shared that success would be measured based on feedback from the athletes — if they felt that it was a meaningful, positive, and growth-oriented experience, then it was.
- Based on our off-the-cuff conversations with all the athletes, the week was a big success.
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Featured Image: Scott Freymond
