S&S to publish Reebok founder's 'remarkable' memoir

Simon & Schuster has snapped up Reebok founder Joe Foster’s memoir, aptly titled Shoemaker.

Deputy publishing director Ian Marshall acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Euan Thorneycroft at A M Heath Literary Agency. 

"Shoemaker is a powerful tale of triumph against all the odds, revealing the challenges and sacrifices that go into creating a world-beating brand; it is also the story of how a small local business can transform itself, with the right products and the right vision, into something much, much bigger," reads the synopsis. 

Foster said: “It’s more than a privilege to be given this wonderful opportunity by Ian Marshall of Simon & Schuster to share with many people the history of my family and their contribution to the sports footwear. From the remarkable inventiveness and marketing genius of my grandfather, to the founding of Reebok and its explosion globally, which took me from Lancashire’s Mills to Beverly Hills and around the world many times.” 

Marshall added: “Joe Foster’s remarkable story is a truly inspirational one. He led the transformation of a family business that had a reputation for making football boots and athletics shoes for the likes of Harold Abrahams, and changed it into an iconic global brand that appeared everywhere from Hollywood red carpets to outer space in the movie 'Aliens'.”