Fokus - Mick Fanning
DOB: June 13, 1981
Place of birth: Penrith, NSW, Australia
Lives: Tweed Heads, NSW, Australia
Stance: Natural
Main Shaper: Darren Handley – DHD Surfboards
Mick Eugene Fanning was born in the Western Sydney suburb of Penrith in 1981, but has called the north coast of NSW home since his family relocated him there as a youngster.
Following his older brothers into the surf, Mick improved his water skills quickly in the wave mecca of Australia’s Gold Coast.
Mick developed his surfing amongst a hotbed of talent, taking over the punchy beach breaks of D’bah and the grinding world class points of Kirra and Burleigh. He was turning into an all-round class act and evolved into one of Australia’s “future surfing stars”.
Fanning forged a close bond with fellow teenage stars Joel Parkinson and Dean Morrison and the infamous ‘Cooly Kids’ crew eventually pushed their way onto the world stage.
In 1999 Mick made some marks on the contest scene that set him apart from other juniors chasing glory. Seven skins in a row at the money-rich Konica Super Skins event at Sandon Point netted him $21,000 and proved he could mix it with the world’s elite after beating Mark Occhilupo Luke Egan, Beau Emerton and Damien Hardman along the way. He then claimed the prestigious HB/OE Pro Junior title at Narrabeen and followed it with a win the next week at the Jetty Surf Pro Junior at Bells Beach.
In 2001 Mick was given a wildcard entry into the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach – a ticket straight to the main stage of international surfing. Mick lived up to the hype and won the contest in emphatic fashion, dedicating the victory to his deceased brother, Sean. He also won the ASP WQS Title that year.
2002 was Fanning’s first year on the ASP World Championship Tour and the 21-year-old won the Billabong Pro in South Africa on his way to finishing 5th overall on the ratings. This result is the highest ranking achieved by a WCT rookie since Kelly Slater won the World Title in his 1992 debut season.
2003 was another awesome year for Mick and he was a contender for the WCT Title right until the second last event of the season. Mick ended up finishing fourth overall on the Top 45 ratings behind Andy Irons, Slater and Taj Burrow.
A lot of people expected 2004 to be Mick’s World Title year and the season was set to be a huge one, but a horrific freesurfing mishap on a Search trip mid-year put him out of action for five months, with a heavy hamstring tear. Some feared he’d never surf at his top level ever again.
Mick made his way into the water in December and after flying to Hawaii to attend WCT Meetings and watch the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters, Mick was awarded a Tour wildcard by his peers for re-entry into the 2005 WCT.
Undergoing vigorous rehab training, Mick got himself fit and ready for the 2005 season. His comeback event would be Stop 1 of the season – the Quiksilver Pro at Mick’s home break of Snapper Rocks in Australia.
Matching Rip Curl teammate Stephanie Gilmore’s remarkable title win in the Women’s WCT at Snapper Rocks that week, Mick proved to the world that he was well and truly back by smashing the field and starting the year in first place on the WCT rankings.
He kept himself in the World Top 3 by winning the inaugural Rip Curl Pro Search WCT in Reunion Island and finishing runner-up to AI at the season’s final event, the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters.
Mick headed into 2006 with a lot of confidence, but wasn’t able to replicate the start he had in 05 and instead was forced to turn his average season into a huge year at the halfway point of the season.
As a past champion of the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay, Mick was always a favorite to challenge for the title in 06. He nailed the task. On the back of that huge win, he took the momentum into every event that followed, including a 2nd place finish at the Quiksilver Pro in France and 1st at the Santa Caterina Pro in Brazil, and fought his way to #3 in the world again.
While most of the surfing world wondered if Kelly Slater was going to compete the entire 2007 season, many put pressure on Mick by announcing that this would be his year and that Australia would finally see the World Champion trophy again. Fanning rose to the challenge and won the opening event of the year to launch his world title campaign in the perfect way.
Career Highlights –
2007 (age 26):
• 1st place Quiksilver Pro WT event, Hossegor, France (September).
• Ranked # 2 surfer in the world in 2007, in USA Surfer Magazine Poll (September) – the highest Surfer Poll ranking achieved by an Australian since Tom Carroll in 1987.
• 2nd place Billabong Pro WT event, Teauhupoo, Tahiti (May).
• Ranked # 3 surfer in the world in 2006, in Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine Peer Poll, voted by the top 45 ranked surfers in the world (March).
• 1st place Quiksilver Pro WT event, Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia (March).
2006 (age 25):
• Ranked # 3 on final 2006 ASP WCT ratings (December).
• 1st place Santa Caterina Pro WCT event, Florianopolis, Brazil (November).
• Ranked # 8 surfer in the world in 2006, in USA Surfer Magazine Poll (September).
• 2nd place Quiksilver Pro WCT event, Hossegor, France (September).
• 1st place Billabong Pro WCT event, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa (July).
• Ranked # 3 surfer in the world in 2005, in Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine Peer Poll, voted by the top 45 ranked surfers in the world (March).
It’s over! Mick Fanning clinched his first Foster’s ASP world title at the Santa Catarina Pro(2007).
2005 (age 24):
• Ranked # 3 on final 2005 ASP WCT ratings (December).
• 2nd place Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters WCT event, Hawaii, USA (December).
• Ranked # 4 surfer in the world in 2005, in USA Surfer Magazine Poll (September).
• 1st place Rip Curl Pro Search WCT event, St Leu, Reunion Island (June).
• 1st place Newcastle City Pro 4-Star WQS event, NSW, Australia (April).
• 1st place Quiksilver Pro WCT event, Snapper Rocks, Qld, Australia (March).
2004 (age 23):
• Ranked # 7 surfer in the world in 2004, in USA Surfer Magazine Poll (September).
• Injured in June 2004, tearing left hamstring off the bone, ending his campaign for the 2004 World Title.
• Ranked # 3 surfer in the world in 2003, in Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine Peer Poll, voted by the top 45 ranked surfers in the world (March).
2003 (age 22):
• Ranked # 4 on final 2003 WCT ratings (December).
• 2nd place Nova Schin WCT event, Floriaonoplis, Brazil (October).
2003 (continued):
• Ranked # 3 surfer in the world in 2003, in USA Surfer Magazine Poll, the highest ranking by an Australian on this Poll in more than a decade. (September).
2002 (age 21):
• Winner of 2002 ASP Rookie Of The Year award, for 5th placing on final WCT rankings – the highest ranking achieved by a WCT rookie since Kelly Slater won the World Championship in his debut season in 1992.
• 4th place Pipeline Masters WCT event, Pipeline, Hawaii (December).
• 2nd place Coca-Cola WCT event, Florianopolis, Brazil (October).
• Ranked # 8 surfer in the world in 2002, in USA Surfer Magazine Reader Poll (September).
• 1st place Billabong Pro WCT event, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa (July).
• Ranked # 1 in Tracks Surfing Magazine Reader Poll, Australia’s oldest magazine poll of surfer popularity (June).
• 1st place Mark Richards Newcastle City Pro 4-Star WQS event, NSW (April).
• Named ESPN-TV “Surfer of 2001”, ahead of CJ Hobgood, Bruce Irons and Andy Irons (April).
• Ranked # 1 in USA Surfer magazine “Hot 100” list of world’s best surfers under 21 years old (April).
• Ranked # 3 surfer in the world in 2001, in Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine Peer Poll, voted by the top 45 ranked surfers in the world (April).
2001 (age 20):
• ASP WQS Champion (December).
• 2nd place ASP G-Shock Hawaiian Pro 6-star WQS event (November).
• 2nd place ASP Billabong World Pro Junior Championship, Phillip Island, Victoria, (November).
• Named USA Surfer Magazine Breakthrough Performer of the year, an award previously won by Bruce Irons & CJ Hobgood (September).
• Ranked # 5 in USA Surfer magazine “Hot 100” list of world’s best surfers under 21 years old (May).
• 1st place ASP Rip Curl Pro WCT event, Bells Beach, Victoria. Granted a sponsor wildcard in this event, Mick became only the 2nd wildcard to post a WCT victory (April).
• 1st place ASP Wet Dreams Masters 6-star WQS event, Margaret River, Western Australia (April).
• 2nd place ASP Quiksilver Pro 5-star WQS event, Gold Coast, Queensland (March).
2000 (age 19):
• Ranked # 33 on final ASP WQS ratings (December).
• Ranked # 2 in Australia’s Surfing Life magazine "Class of 2000" Australian junior surfers peer poll (November).
• Nominated for "Best Surfing Newcomer" (alongside Taj Burrow, Zane Harrison & Bruce Irons) in NEA Extreme Sports Awards, presented at 2000 ISPO Trade Show in Germany (October).
• 1st place Newcastle City Pro 4-Star WQS event (March).
• 1st place O’Neill Junior Pro, Santa Cruz, USA (February).
• 1st place Jetty Surf Pro Junior, Bells Beach, Victoria (January).
1999 (age 18):
• Ranked # 3 on final Australian Pro Junior Circuit Ratings (December).
• Ranked # 3 in Australia’s Surfing Life magazine "Class of 1999" Australian junior surfers peer poll (November).
• Biggest Prize Winner (A$21,000) in Konica Super Skins event, at Sandon Point, Wollongong – the world’s richest one-day contest with a field that included Mark Occhilupo, Damien Hardman, Luke Egan & a number of other current & past WCT surfers (April).
• 1st place Jetty Surf Pro Junior, Bells Beach, Victoria. Victory in the Jetty meant consecutive wins for Mick following his triumph in Sydney – the first back-to-back event double in Australian Pro Junior event history (January).
• 1st place Ocean & Earth/Hot Buttered Pro Junior at Narrabeen in Sydney – the world’s original Pro Junior competition, previously won by Tom Carroll, Mark Occhilupo, Kelly Slater, among others (January).
1998 (age 17):
• Ranked # 6 in Australia’s Surfing Life magazine "Hottest 100" Australian junior surfers poll. (November)
1997 (age 16):
• 2nd place Australian Under 18 Titles (December).
• Ranked # 23 in Australia’s Surfing Life magazine "Hottest 100" Australian junior surfers poll (November).