Fatum Chill Pill 5´6

the Shaper

Gero Tragatschnig

Being german might not really be considered a qualification for a shaper. And even though there might not be a lot of “germanness” about Fatum’s shaper Gero Tragatschnig after twenty-plus years of shaping around the world, his commitment to premium workmanship and flawless design does add little bit of positive german touch to shaping. Gero believes in a straightforward approach to board-design: give every surfer the best possible board.

In addition to a strong focus on performance and competition short- and longboards for surfers worldwide Gero spends a great deal of time on perfecting even those shapes, one might consider a litle less flashy: small-wave-boards, fish, retro-shapes and hybrids.

Even if he doesn’t play along with every new fad, Gero likes to keep an open mind. If it works, he’ll give it try. And if you find it in Fatum’s range, you’ll know it makes sense.

For Gero the key to the perfect board is in the details. Building from the ideal outline, he continuously refines the bottom contour, the tailshape and fin setup. The result is line of boards that work. Boards that allow you to go beyond. To develop and to perfect your personal style in any condition.

A brief history of Fatum

From 1996 till today

In 1996 Fatum started out as an idea in Germany (of all places) when Gero and Thomas Lange met on Sylt (an island on the german coast, where you can actually find surfable waves) and decided to start their own brand of surfboards.

Gero, shaper for Paradise Customs, and Thomas, pro-surfer with worldwide contest experience, set out to create a company that would produce high quality surfboards without global business goals, marketing plans or any other right-brained balast – just serious surfboards.

In 1998 Fatum Surfboards was born and started production on Sylt. In 2000 Fatum made the move to Peniche/Portugal where you can find some of the old continent’s best surfspots and year round conditions provide a perfect testing ground for new shapes and designs.

During the following years Fatum developed into one of Europe’s top brands and still remains true to it’s roots: innovative shapes, premium quality construction and a close relationship between surfer and shaper.

In 2008 a fire destroyed the Fatum factory. Rescueing what little was left, Fatum moved to their current location and reopended it’s doors to a brand new bigger and better factory & showroom.