White.

WORDS JODI WILMOTT

We asked Mick Fanning, Australia’s leading light of surf, how it feels to be bringing the sport’s biggest prize back to Australia.


Photos: RIP CURLAfter an unstoppable professional surfing season in 2007 – winning three events and reaching the semi-finals or better of eight of the year’s 10 competitions – Australia’s Mick Fanning ended the year in the driver’s seat when he claimed the ASP World Tour Championship in Brazil. Australia’s surfing community can breathe a sigh of relief as, once again, all looks good for the sport’s future Down Under with the Aussie men and women currently holding seven of the top 10 places!
Since the inception of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) in 1976, Australians have been steady at the helm. From Peter Townend to Mark Richards and Tom Carroll, Aussies laid claim to 11 of the first 16 world titles. (Of course this doesn’t include the golden girls Layne Beachley and new world champion Stephanie Gilmore.)

But when American surfing wunderkind Kelly Slater hit the scene in 1991, he built a US dominance that hauled 14 of the next 15 years’ titles.

Veteran Australian Mark Occhilupo was the only surfer to claim back the men’s title for the green-and-gold in 1999, inspiring a new generation of Australian talent. Fanning was among them and the nation knew it was only a matter of time before the “White Knight” would resurrect the Australian surfing dream.

“To take over the reins from Occ is incredible,” said Fanning of his world title win in November. “He’s pretty much the legend of the sport.

“Everyone believes we can do it now. People realise surfers like Slater and Andy Irons [Hawaii] can be beaten. Once you get over that hurdle of doubt, there’s no stopping.”

Aussies certainly love their sport stars, even more so when they rise from the ashes. In that sense, Fanning is the perfect champion.

Born in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith in 1981, a career in the ocean was made possible when Fanning’s family headed east, eventually landing on the New South Wales surfing hot spot Tweed Heads.

Along with older brother Sean, surfing was fast becoming a viable career path. That was before Sean’s life was tragically taken in a car accident in 1998. After that, the ocean became a place for Mick to both release and focus.

Success followed when he won the prestigious Rip Curl Pro title at Bells Beach, Australia, as a wildcard in 2001. He ended that year at the top of the ASP’s preliminary World Qualifying Series tour, earning a spot on the elite Championship Tour for 2002.

But his rise was again tempered by a fall. Dropping from the lip of a wave and sliding into the splits on his board, Fanning sheered his hamstring from the bone. It was an injury that required major surgery, reattaching the muscle by way of a metal hook in his butt that will be there for life. Although sidelined for a year, the arduous rehabilitation proved to be pivotal to his career.

“I missed competing and being on the tour. I learned a lot about training and fitness. I was fortunate to get that time to see that I’d been taking things for granted. It played a big part in me finally winning the world title.”

Sweetening Fanning’s title even more was the fact that Occhilupo was also there to enjoy it.
“I’ve taken a lot of good things from a lot of different people. My heroes are my family, my friends, and the guys on the tour. I want to be a good role model for those young guys coming up.”

For Fanning, giving back comes with moving forward, and he hopes to do just that by becoming a World Vision Ambassador – one of his extra-curricular undertakings.

“If you’ve got the ability to do it, giving back is a very cool thing. I sponsor two kids and a family in South Africa and the feeling of helping someone else out is amazing.”

While he takes responsibility seriously, Fanning’s also one to enjoy the lighter side of life outside of competition. His invention of a thong (flip-flop) with a bottle-opener embedded in the sole is a true blue Aussie creation (and a best-seller for Reef).

“I wanted to do something different and I came up with the bottle-opener. I’ve actually seen people kicking back cracking beers with them. It’s pretty funny.”

It’s possible Fanning might not be remembered for his bottle-opening thong, but his surfing legacy is now etched in history.

“It was pretty special sitting next to Occ on the flight home from Brazil. He was really stoked for one of the boys to be bringing home the title. It was a big honour for me, especially knowing he was about to retire.”

Now holding the torch, Fanning hopes to inspire many behind him, just as Occhilupo has.

Tips from Mick Fanning
On how to reach your goals:

• Just have fun with it.
• When you lose, try to learn.
• Expect those first few years to be a big learning curve.
• Be well rounded and creative.
• Keep applying yourself. Always try to improve.
• The edge comes with confidence. Confidence comes from doing something so many times that it’s automatic.

His favourite surf destinations:
• Hawaii: Banzai Pipeline, Off-the-Wall, Haleiwa.
• Bali: Uluwatu, Bingin, Canggu (pronounced chung-goo).