The extraordinary story of Reebok, the global brand built in Bury

We spoke to the founder

Good morning Millers - today’s story is a members-only post about a man called Joe Foster. I had never heard of him until he came up on my Twitter timeline this summer, but I doubt any living Briton has created a brand as famous as the one he started in a factory in Bury in the late 1950s: Reebok.

He has just published his autobiography, which is called Shoemaker, and I chatted to him last month about his life. I find his story absolutely enthralling - as a business tale and a personal one - so I’ll tell it like a story, starting at the beginning, in 1940s Bolton.