Mick Fanning

Along with Joel Parkinson and Dean Morrison, Mick Fanning is one of the three Coolangatta Kids who are making the 21st Century pro tour an entertaining place by land and sea, day and night. According to Fanning, “Cooly is home to some of the creepiest people in the world.” And while he and Parko and Morrison are relatively straight by their hometown standard, they are not immune to getting their freak on after and even before an event: “Yeah, why not? We're only young, and we like to have fun all the time,” Fanning said to Chris Mauro. “But we keep it under control. Like, if there's an event I want to do well in, I'm dead sober for two weeks leading up to it. Then it's either letting out the frustration when you lose or celebrating when you win.”

Fanning prefers to celebrate when he wins, but will throw down to congratulate his mates, too. Born inland in Sydney, the family moved to coastal New South Wales and Fanning learned to surf at the age of five, but didn’t go full on until his family moved to Tweed Heads when he was 12. On the edge of the Queensland/New South Wales border, Fanning had access to epic surf north and south and he began to make a name for himself. As one of the Coolangatta Kids, Fanning. Parkinson and Morrison were compared to the red-hot 70s Queensland trip of Michael Peterson, Rabbit Bartholomew and Peter Townend.

At the 1997 Australian National Titles Fanning placed Third in the Juniors but more importantly he established himself as one of the very best of the crop of surfers who ruled the Queensland points. In 2001 Fanning took a wild-card entry at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach to win one of Australia’s most venerated contests. Fanning dedicated the contest to his brother Sean, who was killed in a car crash in 1998. That same year he was the World Qualifying Series Champion and earned a slot on the tour for 2002.

Fanning is a great surfer who does best in great waves and in 2002 he won the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay and finished the year as the Rookie of the Year. By 2004, Fanning had earned the nickname White Lightning for the thick mop of white hair on top and the wings on his fast feet down below. Fanning was slowed a bit when he suffered a very serious hamstring injury that year which required surgery, but he came back within six months to win the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks – his homebreak.

Win or lose, Fanning is out to have a good time, all the time. He is known for getting naked when the mood hits him and also for his slightly inebriated acceptance speeches that resurrect the spirit of Simon Anderson. At the 2005 Surfer Poll, Fanning when into legend when he wandered onto the stage during Kelly Slater’s acceptance speech. When Kelly asked what would happen if he did the same thing to Fanning in Australia, fanning responded, “You’d get laid!

Antics aside, Fanning is dead serious when it comes to competition and he is another Australian who, under the party exterior, is gnawing on the dry spell of Aussie World Champions in the last 20 years. White Lightning is a serious contender, just hide your daughters if he ever wins.