Australian professional surfer and dual world champion. Fanning won the 2007, 2009 and 2013 ASP World Tour. He is nicknamed “White Lightning.”
Fanning learned to surf at the age of 5 in coastal South Australia at a town called Mt Gambier, but did not go full on until his family moved to Tweed Heads when he was twelve. He grew up with fellow professional surfer, Joel Parkinson and fellow ripper Nat West. On the edge of the Queensland border, Fanning had access to epic surf north and south and he began to make a name for himself. In 1996 he established himself as one the very best surfers to rule the Queensland points by placing in the top three at the Australian National Titles.
He was a wild card entry at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in 2001 winning one of Australia’s most acclaimed contests. He finished 2002 as rookie of the year winning the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay and earning himself a slot on the 2002 tour as the World Qualifying Series’ (WQS) Champion.
He suffered a complete hamstring tear in 2004. He had to have it surgically repaired and made an incredible comeback to become one of the greatest surfers on the ASP world tour.
The year 2007 marked Fanning’s sixth year on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour since 2002 and his ninth year on the ASP WQS since 1998. He began his 2007 World Title campaign (WCT) with a victory at the Quiksilver Pro, the first event on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, putting himself on top of the ratings. He won the Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil on 6 November 2007 placing above Taj Burrow and Kelly Slater therefore clinching the 2007 ASP world title. In 2008 he suffered a mid-season groin injury. He slipped to eighth position on the end of year ratings. In 2009, Mick Fanning reclaimed his ASP World Champion crown at the famous Pipeline reef break on Oahu’s North Shore. Although Fanning was knocked out by fellow Australian Dean Morrison in Round 4, his points lead from winning three of the last four events was enough to secure victory.
Fanning is married to model Karissa Dalton.
On 19 July 2015, Fanning was attacked by a shark on live television two minutes into the J-Bay Open finals (at Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa); he hit the shark and was physically unharmed. It was the first time a surfer has been attacked by a shark during a world tour event.
Link to Wikipedia biography