Joseph William Foster (Joe) was born in 1935 in Bolton, England. His grandfather, whose name and birthday he shares, was the founder of J.W. Foster & Sons (Athletic Shoes) Ltd and the inventor of the spiked running shoe and the sneaker. Foster and his late brother Jeff were born into the family business, but unsatisfied with the company’s development they left the business to create a new sports shoe company. The brothers founded Mercury Sports Footwear, which became Reebok.

By 1965, Foster was on his way to the National Sporting Goods of America (NSGA) Show in Chicago, which was the start of many global adventures and experiences that, 15 years later, saw him team up with Paul Fireman, who would lead Reebok for 26 years.

As the surviving founder of Reebok, Foster still welcomes the opportunity to travel and recount stories about launching the startup with his brother and taking the company to a $4 billion business, overtaking both Adidas and Nike to become the world’s top sports brands. He wrote the book, Shoemaker, to share his story and inspire the next generation of budding entrepreneurs.

Foster is currently the Chairman of LetsLocalise, a UK-based charity aimed at bringing schools and businesses together to support and strengthen local communities.