4. MICK FANNING

NAME: Mick Fanning
HOMELANDS: Tweed River, NSW, Australia
BORN: June 13, 1981
WEAPONS: Darren Handley
ALIGNMENT: Left foot forward_
SPECIAL POWER: "Know how to have fun"
FEEDS ON: "Home cooking, mum's roast"
STRENGTHS: "Willpower"
WEAKNESS: "Missing my family and friends"
ALLIES: "Parko, Dingo, Hog, Griggsy and everyone else I love hanging with"
NEMESIS: "Same as above they always beat me in something"
MOTIVATION: "Kelly, Andy and the world title"
MOST VALUED POSSESSION: Friendships
HUNTING GROUNDS: "Coolangatta funniest place on earth"
PERFORMS BEST WHEN: comfortable.
HAPPIEST WHEN: "Surfing perfect waves, enjoying myself"
GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: "First in the world", "Getting through rehab for my leg"
YOU NEVER KNEW THIS ABOUT ME: "Everyone knows everything about me"
PARTNER: "Karissa"
PET: "Taylor-dog"
INSPIRATION: "People who surf better than me and people having the time of their life; my mates, funniest humans on earth"

HISTORY
The genesis of Fanning? "I was in a 'Kids R Kool' mag when I was a kid, skateboarding in Sydney's West ... I looked like an idiot."
His family moved North to Ballina where weekdays for the Fanning brothers were spent at the Southern Cross K12 school, and weekends were consumed by the goings-on of Le-Ba Boardriders, where mum Liz was club secretary.
Another relocation just slightly closer to the equator brought the Fanning clan to Tweed Heads. On being dunked in the pointbreaks of Coolangatta Mick soon struck up a friendship with Parko and Dingo.
The three hit puberty, hit the accelerator and left the world in their wake - 'The Coolie Kids' revolution had begun. In 2001, he shot out of the blocks like none since Martin Potter 10 years before, winning Bells on a wildcard and the world went bonkers trying to describe an indescribable talent.
Superlatives were lumped on his striking physical appearance and speed; White Knight, White Lightning, etc. The phenom was notably crystallised in Surfing Magazine as "An elastic ball of fury wearing Kangaroo boots".

PRESENT DAY:
Australia's most popular surfer since Tom Carroll was mobbed by media and the masses alike. Kept it all down home and earthy. On land, has a classic Australian talk-down modesty that endears him to the surfing public but isn't fooling any other competitors: trying to conceal that blazing talent is like hiding an elephant under a mat.
His talent has always been scary, almost other-worldy, but it took having his hamstring ripped from his buttocks to harness it further. He came back near unbeatable on classic pointbreaks. Near unbeatable everywhere. The focus was sickening (to other competitors).So much so, that when his personal turbines were turned on, he galloped like a racehorse amid a field of donkeys.
He never got complacent, when Taj and Slater sent out the hunting dogs mid-year, Mick bolted further away, and before the season had even finished he was a dust cloud on the horizon, carrying a very large trophy titled "2007 ASP World Champion". In 2008 and 2009, Mick has looked faster, fitter and more brutal than ever, though not quite having the heat ratio wins of '07.

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Click on the individual All Stars below to find out a little bit more about those going into battle.

All pics Joli (unless otherwise noted)