Mick Fanning opens up on shocking family tragedies that included the surfing star attending ‘his own wake’
- Surfing legend won three world titles in decorated career
- Mick Fanning has also mourned the deaths of three older brothers
- In 2015, he famously survived a shark attack in South Africa
Mick Fanning is a three-time world surfing champion and a respected figure in the sport, but his life away from the ocean is beset by repeated family tragedies.
The recent Sports Australia Hall of Fame inductee, 43, is the youngest of four boys.
Inexplicably, the Gold Coast resident has mourned the deaths of his older siblings Sean, Peter and Ed, dating back to 1998.
Sean died in a car crash on the way home from a Coolangatta party aged just 20 – and then Peter, 43, died in his sleep in 2015 after complications from an enlarged heart.
Ed, 48, died earlier this year when a wound became infected in Madagascar, where he worked as a surf instructor.
He also suffered heart complications and died in hospital.
“Life hits you with a sledgehammer every now and then,” Fanning told the newspaper Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Processing takes time. It takes time to heal. It’s definitely a journey.’
Mick Fanning is a three-time world surfing champion, but his life away from the ocean is disrupted by repeated family tragedies (pictured, with partner Breeana)
Fanning (right), the youngest of four boys, mourned the deaths of his three older brothers
Fanning is also acutely aware that he cheated death after an encounter with a great white shark in South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay in 2015 (pictured)
Ed Fanning (pictured left) lived and worked at a surf camp in Madagascar before dying in March due to heart complications
Mick Fanning said he ‘felt like I had nothing to give’ after losing his brother Peter in 2015
The Penrith-raised star – who moved to the Glitter Strip at the age of 12 – is grateful to have partner Breeana Randall – plus their two children, Xander and baby Lyla – in his corner.
Their constant presence helps prevent life from ‘getting really dark’ for the nature walker.
Fanning is also acutely aware that he cheated death after an encounter with a great white shark in South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay in 2015.
He is asked almost every day about the incident – in which he frantically punched the shark as survival mode kicked in.
The epic party that followed J-Bay’s open finale – which mainly celebrated the fact that Fanning was still alive – actually felt more like a wake.
“It was just so raw. Not just for me, but for everyone who was at the beach that day,” Fanning remembers.
“Surfing is a huge family, so that’s it. We almost lost a member of the family.
“It felt like I woke up on my own because one minute everyone was laughing and the next minute everyone was crying. ‘It was very special, but also such a strange moment.’