{"id":71384,"date":"2022-11-27T13:03:45","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T12:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/?page_id=71384"},"modified":"2026-09-09T16:28:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:28:33","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn more about the man behind PaddleShifterz"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ps-about\">\n\n  <nav class=\"ps-ab-breadcrumb\"><a href=\"\/es\/\">Inicio<\/a> \/ <span>Acerca de<\/span><\/nav>\n\n  <section class=\"ps-ab-hero\">\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-hero-text\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-eyebrow\">About PaddleShifterz<\/p>\n      <h1>Hi, my name<br>is Szab.<\/h1>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-lede\">I started PaddleShifterz.com because I wanted to create a better set of paddle shifters than the original ones for my BMW F30.<\/p>\n      <div class=\"ps-ab-hero-actions\">\n        <a class=\"ps-ab-btn ps-ab-btn--outline\" href=\"#story\">Read the story <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2193<\/span><\/a>\n        <a class=\"ps-ab-btn ps-ab-btn--filled\" href=\"\/es\/contact\/\">Contact me<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-hero-image\">\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PaddleShifterz-Founder-image-high-scale.jpg\" alt=\"Szabolcs Sztanyi behind a Toronto Red BMW G87 M2 in the mountains\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section class=\"ps-ab-facts\">\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-fact\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-label\">First design<\/p>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-value\">2017<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-fact\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-label\">Shop launched<\/p>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-value\">May 2018<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-fact\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-label\">Award<\/p>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-value\">German Design 2023<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-fact\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-label\">Based in<\/p>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-fact-value\">Munich area, Germany<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section class=\"ps-ab-mission\">\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-mission-inner\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-mission-eyebrow\">My mission<\/p>\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-mission-text\"><strong>My mission:<\/strong> to be one of the best online shops where you can get all the information you need for your vehicle, the parts you need and how to install them. I&#8217;m Szabolcs Sztanyi \u2014 I designed the first paddle shifter prototypes in Fusion 360 at the end of 2017 to improve on the OEM part on my own BMW F30, launched paddleshifterz.com in May 2018 with an aluminium version in five finishes, and released the carbon fiber version later that year; the lineup has since grown to fit MINI, Toyota Supra, and Volkswagen too. In 2021 I started sourcing genuine BMW parts directly through a dealership partnership in Munich, and in 2023 the carbon fiber F\/G-Series shifters won a German Design Award Special Mention for Excellent Product Design in Automotive Parts and Accessories. Customer support is still a number one priority for me, answering emails, messages and requests within minutes-hours, and solving issues as fast as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know via our <a href=\"\/es\/contact\/\">contact page<\/a>.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section class=\"ps-ab-story\" id=\"story\">\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-story-header\">\n      <h2>How it started<\/h2>\n      <span class=\"ps-ab-story-range\">2017 \u2014 today<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-story-body\">\n      <div class=\"ps-ab-timeline\">\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">End of 2017<\/p>\n          <h3>The first prototypes<\/h3>\n          <p>At the end of 2017 I started designing my first set using Fusion 360, purchased a 3D printer and started printing prototypes to see which version works better, what design looks the best. As with designing and prototyping normally happens I&#8217;ve created many bad designs, many wrong versions of the final piece I was aiming for. I had shifters that broke off after the first shift, I had others where the design was just ugly. However, I never gave up and after many trial and error I finally created one that was working brilliantly \u2014 throughout the whole shifter, no matter where you pulled on them \u2014 and looked beautiful.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">May 2018<\/p>\n          <h3>paddleshifterz.com goes live<\/h3>\n          <p>In May of 2018 I launched paddleshifterz.com with the first design of my paddle shifters in aluminium, finished in 5 different colors. Only a few weeks later it started to gain traction, and received a lot of positive feedback from customers who wanted something unique, good looking, longer and better designed shifters that always work, no matter where you interact with them.<\/p>\n          <p>Later that year I&#8217;ve redesigned the original design and launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/carbon-fiber-paddle-shifters-for-f-g-series\/\">carbon fiber paddle shifters for F series<\/a>.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">Since then<\/p>\n          <h3>More platforms<\/h3>\n          <p>Since then I created shifters for other brands like MINI, Toyota (Supra) and Volkswagen 7\/7.5.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">2021<\/p>\n          <h3>Genuine BMW parts<\/h3>\n          <p>In 2021, I expanded the business even more, I started offering more and more original BMW products, including wheels and M performance parts for almost all models available. For that I approached the local (in Munich, Germany) BMW Dealership to get a proper deal and work together in this project.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">2023<\/p>\n          <h3>A German Design Special Award<\/h3>\n          <p>In 2023, one of my paddle shifters \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/carbon-fiber-paddle-shifters-for-f-g-series\/\">Carbon fiber paddle shifters for F and G Series<\/a> \u2014 won a German Design Special Award 2023 in Excellent Product Design Automotive Parts and Accessories, which was a real honor and acknowledgement that these products are truly amazing.<\/p>\n          <a class=\"ps-ab-award\" href=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/carbon-fiber-paddle-shifters-for-f-g-series\/\">\n            <span class=\"ps-ab-award-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n              <svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.6\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"5.5\"><\/circle><path d=\"M8.5 12.8 7 21l5-2.5 5 2.5-1.5-8.2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"ps-ab-award-text\">\n              <span class=\"ps-ab-award-label\">German Design Special Award 2023<\/span>\n              <span class=\"ps-ab-award-title\">Excellent Product Design \u2014 Automotive Parts and Accessories<\/span>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"ps-ab-award-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-entry\">\n          <p class=\"ps-ab-entry-date\">December 2023<\/p>\n          <h3>A Toronto Red G87 M2<\/h3>\n          <p>In December 2023, one of my goals were achieved by acquiring a nice brand new Toronto Red G87 M2 (only had to wait 3 months for it), that would meant new opportunities and allowed me to start building the vehicle according to my own needs and desires. My plan is to make custom carbon fiber products for this platform and build more and more parts for other BMWs and MINIs too. The vehicle was 3d scanned by <a href=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/shop\/?filter_brand=faserschmiede-gmbh\/\">Faserschmiede Carbon GmbH<\/a> our long time partner who are making our carbon fiber paddle shifters and will be making our new carbon fiber parts in the future. I&#8217;ve started working with them since basically day one and never stopped since then.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"ps-ab-sticky-col\">\n        <div class=\"ps-ab-sticky-inner\">\n          <div class=\"ps-ab-sticky-image\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/PaddleShifterz-Carbon-Fiber-paddle-shifters-for-FG-Series-and-Supra-red-main-image.jpg\" alt=\"PaddleShifterz Carbon Fiber paddle shifters for F\/G Series and Supra\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\">\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"ps-ab-sticky-image\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/PaddleShifterz-OEM-BMW-G82-M4-CSL-Strut-brace-51617885847-9.jpg\" alt=\"OEM BMW strut brace, G82 M4 CSL and G80 M3\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\">\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-wide-image\">\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PaddleShifterz-Cover-Image-with-a-toronto-red-BMW-G87-M2-in-the-mountains-with-M-performance-parts.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto Red BMW G87 M2 in the mountains with M Performance parts\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\">\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section class=\"ps-ab-footer-cta\">\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-cta-card\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-cta-eyebrow\">The product<\/p>\n      <h3>Where it all started<\/h3>\n      <p>The award-winning carbon fiber paddle shifters, plus sets for MINI, Toyota Supra and Volkswagen.<\/p>\n      <a class=\"ps-ab-btn ps-ab-btn--outline\" href=\"\/es\/paddle-shifters\/\">See the paddle shifters<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"ps-ab-cta-card\">\n      <p class=\"ps-ab-cta-eyebrow\">Talk to me<\/p>\n      <h3>Questions about fitment?<\/h3>\n      <p>Send your VIN and I confirm the right part number for your chassis before you order.<\/p>\n      <a class=\"ps-ab-btn ps-ab-btn--filled\" href=\"\/es\/contact\/\">Contact page<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \/ About About PaddleShifterz Hi, my nameis Szab. I started PaddleShifterz.com because I wanted to create a better set of paddle shifters than the original ones for my BMW F30. Read the story \u2193 Contact me First design 2017 Shop launched May 2018 Award German Design 2023 Based in Munich area, Germany My mission [&#8230;]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bwfblock_default_font":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-71384","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71384\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paddleshifterz.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}