Interning at adidas During the 75th Anniversary and the Summer of Sport

It all happened late one night. I had just returned to Europe after studying abroad in Japan, where I had the chance to make my way from Sapporo—famous for its skiing—to Kyoto to explore the area . With my adidas internship application still under review and fresh on my mind, I tried to pass the time by chatting with my housemate. I knew it was just a matter of a day or two before I’d receive feedback. We all know what the waiting game is like – it’s filled excitement and a little dash of dread.  

Thankfully, it wasn’t much later that I’d I picked up the phone to hear the news that I’d been accepted! Looking back, that was the call that led to an amazing sixth-month journey at the adidas headquarters in Germany.  

What it’s like to intern at the 3-Stripes 

I remember the first day all of us interns entered the adidas headquarters. The campus was mind-blowing. From the outside, Arena, one of the company’s huge buildings located at the headquarters looks huge. But once you set foot inside, it’s more like a living space where people get together and live together. It’s a little intimidating, yet it’s also intimate and impressive.  Me and my fellow interns were all in a state of bliss.  

HR organized a two-day on-boarding event for us where they familiarized us with the platforms and tools we’d be using for our tasks. They also helped acclimate us with our surroundings and the adidas working culture. It helped to hear from previous interns and a few vice presidents from different departments during the onboarding sessions. Each presenter gave valuable insights regarding the internship experience and patiently answered all of our questions. We were also lucky to hear from Michelle Robertson, who is a member of the executive board and is responsible for Global Human Resources, People, and Culture.  

Life after our on-boarding 

Friends always ask if I met any cool athletes and brand partners on campus during my internship. And I can definitely say, yes! Just to name a couple, I saw Stefano Tsitsipas as well as Pharell Williams. And it wasn’t just celebrity sightings that made the internship so exciting, we also considered ourselves lucky to be interns during a clash of so many celebratory occasions. Not only was the company celebrating its 75th birthday that summer, but it was also when the European Championships were taking place.  This internship was a  golden ticket for us to participate in the summer-long party!  

Just imagine: In preparation for the Euro football games, the German national players were staying on the campus to train until the tournament started. And yes, I lost count of how many times I saw the German national players biking around campus and watching them train on our grounds. They also inspired me to take advantage of my surrounding sporting environment. So that was when I started running! 

Unleashing the athlete within 

Being a part of adidas shapes you in so many ways you’d never think of. We were all under the influence of such a sporty culture. When I wasn’t carrying out my work tasks, I could be found around campus playing beach volleyball, basketball, padel, and other sports. And there were quite a few interns among us – not me though at the time! – who  were runners. Lucky for me, I made a good friend who was also interested in starting to run. I thought to myself, why don’t I give running a try?! Now is the time to challenge myself. And let me tell you: I used to hate running.  

Nowadays, running is just something I do and love. I also highly recommend using the adidas Running app to keep track of your progress. What I love the most about the app is the audio guide and the way the app updates you during your run; it’s quite motivating as well. I was even able to register my adidas Supernova sneakers on the app!  

And you can imagine team sports play a big role at adidas. It’s how colleagues work together to achieve goals—and it’s also what us interns did for fun on the football pitch.  We even had our own intern football club called Rising Rookie Rangers. I know it sounds cheesy, but chances are you’ll hear about us if the team goes on to win big… so stay tuned. Now on to the summer party! 

     Celebrating 75 years of adidas 

Life is dynamic at adidas and there's always something going on. But I never would’ve imagined that I’d be at the HQ  for one of the biggest events: the 75th anniversary. You could even see them assembling the stages (yes, there was more than one stage!) before the event, which generated a lot of buzz on campus. Then the day of the event, there were many drink and food stands, and tons of activities. 

DMC from RUN-DMC performed a few of his classics – including, you guessed it: “My Adidas” – which was the ultimate birthday gift! There was also a huge screen to watch the Euro football games if anyone was interested. I was also roaming around the campus with a disposable camera capturing the good vibes. 

And just the day before the birthday bash, I remember Germany won against Scotland. Then at the 75th festival, the German national football team made it back in time to serve  ice cream on campus to the guests – and there was a huge queue for it!