As the 3x World Champ announces his retirement, take a look back at some of the most remarkable moments from his 17 years on tour.
Australian 3x World Champion Mick Fanning has just announced his retirement from the WSL Championship Tour (CT). He will surf the first two events of the 2018 season, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and will retire from competitive surfing on the CT after his final heat in the famous Bells Bowl.
"I feel like I've just lost the drive to compete day-in day-out now," says Mick. "It's been something I've been doing for 17 years, and even before that through QS and Juniors, and I feel that I just can't give it 100 percent anymore. I'm just not enjoying it as much as I was in the past. I still love surfing, and I'm still super excited by it, but I feel that's there's other paths for me to take at this stage in my life.
Fanning at the 2017 Corona Open J-Bay, doing his customary pre-heat prep. - WSL / Steve Sherman
"As for choosing to retire at Bells, I've always had in mind that my last event on Tour was going to be Bells. That's basically where I started my career, it was my first ever CT win, and I feel really connected down there."
Mick first joined the CT in 2002, after winning his first CT event as a wildcard entry at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. It was a win that pushed him up into the elite levels of surfing, and that put his name on the map as a man who was going to make history.
In 2003, his first year on Tour, he won at Jeffreys Bay -- a wave that went on to become one of his pet events -- as well as one of the most pivotal moments in his career, and life, when he was attacked by a shark during the Final heat of the event in 2015.
Fanning will finish his 17-year run on the CT at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Above, Fanning at the 2017 event.
In 2004, after two years of being on the world Tour, Mick sustained a career-threatening injury while surfing in the Mentawais, tearing his hamstring off the bone and putting him out of the water for months. But rather than give up, Mick took this injury and used it as motivation to come back even stronger. He was back competing on the Tour by 2005, and just three years later won his first World Title.
Over the course of his career Mick has been through more than most of us could imagine. He's seen both personal triumph and personal tragedy under the scrutiny of the public eye, worked through injuries that would have ended others' careers, and punched a shark on live television, coming out completely physically unscathed.
Throughout all of that, he has won 3x World Championship Titles, 22x World Tour events, and completed 16 career tours.
"After so many years on tour, it's been so fun," says Mick. "It's been a roller coaster for sure, you have your peaks and valleys, but you know, when I look back on my time on tour it's amazing memories -- from building myself up to compete, to heat wins and event wins, celebrating with friends and just seeing places I never thought I'd even get to."
Congratulations Mick, we couldn't be more proud of you and everything that you've achieved -- and we can't wait to see what's next.
Cheers Mick
3x World Champion Mick Fanning Announces Retirement
WSL
Australian 3x World Champion Mick Fanning has just announced his retirement from the WSL Championship Tour (CT). He will surf the first two events of the 2018 season, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and will retire from competitive surfing on the CT after his final heat in the famous Bells Bowl.
"I feel like I've just lost the drive to compete day-in day-out now," says Mick. "It's been something I've been doing for 17 years, and even before that through QS and Juniors, and I feel that I just can't give it 100 percent anymore. I'm just not enjoying it as much as I was in the past. I still love surfing, and I'm still super excited by it, but I feel that's there's other paths for me to take at this stage in my life.
"As for choosing to retire at Bells, I've always had in mind that my last event on Tour was going to be Bells. That's basically where I started my career, it was my first ever CT win, and I feel really connected down there."
Mick first joined the CT in 2002, after winning his first CT event as a wildcard entry at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. It was a win that pushed him up into the elite levels of surfing, and that put his name on the map as a man who was going to make history.
In 2003, his first year on Tour, he won at Jeffreys Bay -- a wave that went on to become one of his pet events -- as well as one of the most pivotal moments in his career, and life, when he was attacked by a shark during the Final heat of the event in 2015.
In 2004, after two years of being on the world Tour, Mick sustained a career-threatening injury while surfing in the Mentawais, tearing his hamstring off the bone and putting him out of the water for months. But rather than give up, Mick took this injury and used it as motivation to come back even stronger. He was back competing on the Tour by 2005, and just three years later won his first World Title.
Over the course of his career Mick has been through more than most of us could imagine. He's seen both personal triumph and personal tragedy under the scrutiny of the public eye, worked through injuries that would have ended others' careers, and punched a shark on live television, coming out completely physically unscathed.
Throughout all of that, he has won 3x World Championship Titles, 22x World Tour events, and completed 16 career tours.
"After so many years on tour, it's been so fun," says Mick. "It's been a roller coaster for sure, you have your peaks and valleys, but you know, when I look back on my time on tour it's amazing memories -- from building myself up to compete, to heat wins and event wins, celebrating with friends and just seeing places I never thought I'd even get to."
Congratulations Mick, we couldn't be more proud of you and everything that you've achieved -- and we can't wait to see what's next.
Cheers Mick
Mick Fanning
Featuring Yago Dora, Filipe Toledo, Caio Ibelli, Ian Gouveia, Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Gabriel Medina, Julian Wilson, Adriano de
Paul Fisher, Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Mick Fanning, Chelsea Hedges, Joel Parkinson, Mark Occhilupo, and Dean Morrison takeover
Icons of surfing take the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro by storm, celebrating Kelly Slater in a World Champ's Super Heat. A lineup that compiled
Former CT surfers Caroline Sarran and Tim Boal add their footprint and their name to the prestigious Anglet Surf Avenue alongside the likes
The 10th stop on tour and the final proving ground as the world's best look to clinch their spots in the Rip Curl WSL Finals. Take a look
News
Over 150 of Asia Pacific's Best Up and Comers Set Their Sights on Jinzun Harbor -- Event Window to Run From November 9 - 16.
Excellent showings from Maddie Stanton, Skai Suitt, Faviola Alcala and more highlighted opening day in Jacksonville Beach.
In an unforgettable quarterfinal, Morocco's Ramzi Boukhiam takes on the legendary 11x World Champ Kelly Slater at firing Teahupo'o in 2024.
Incoming Swell, Festival for the Whole Family, and Major Points in Jacksonville Beach
After her maiden QS victory at Sunset just days ago, Eweleiula Wong is back in Jacksonville Beach ready for another go at a Super Girl cape