When live broadcasters on the eastern cape of South Africa captured the terrifying moment a shark trailed Australian surf icon Mick Fanning just minutes into the 2015 J-Bay Open Final, viewers across the world gripped their couches and braced for the worst.
But as the 10th anniversary of the champion wave rider’s brush with death looms, Fanning is remarkably relaxed about his miraculous escape from harm.
“It was just something that happened,” he told 9news.com.au.
“To be honest, it wasn’t like a flick of the switch moment where I was gonna change my whole life.
“I just had to do work on myself to get myself back to, you know, surfing and stuff like that.”
After the near-attack in July 2015, Fanning returned to Jeffreys Bay the following year where he took out the competition, before retiring from WSL competition in 2018 as a three-time world champion.
Since then, the Ballina-bred surfer has turned his focus – and perhaps his broader legacy – to charity.
In March 2022, TV cameras were again fixed on Fanning, who again donned his signature wetsuit as he traversed deadly flood waters on his jet ski, carrying essential supplies and helping dozens of locals in the Northern Rivers to safe ground.
“I know that area really well,” Fanning said.
The 43-year-old learned to surf in Ballina before honing his skills after moving to the Gold Coast as a teenager.
“It’s a place that I love and I got plenty of friends down there so I had a lot of friends that were affected by it all.”
From there, Mick Fanning’s Charity Golf Day was born.
The inaugural event raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the flood recovery.
Three years on, that figure is approaching $2 million, but the circumstances across the region are devastatingly similar.
“It seems like it’s just happening every other year now,” Fanning said.
“I guess on the ground and in doing all the rescue work and helping people get back on their feet, you build relationships and … we’ve just found that a lot of people are still really struggling.
“It’s been three years on now and … people are just finding out that the grants they thought they were going to get are not coming through.
“Some people are just, you know, losing that hope.”
Fanning hopes some of the community’s faith can be restored when a star-studded lineup of Aussie sporting legends and celebrities converge on the green at Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club today for the fourth annual Charity Golf Day.
“We’re just here to let them know that we’re still here we’re still thinking of them and still trying to help where we can,” he said.
“There’s some incredible people that are all coming out to support and yeah, we’re very thankful for all their support and donating their time.”
Famous faces such as Dylan Alcott, Ellyse Perry, Hamish Blake, Sally Pearson, Karl Stefanovic and Shannon Noll will be swinging their drivers alongside generous supporters to raise vital funds for on-the-ground charities including Givit, Human Nature, and Hands On Hearts.
This year, $1 million and a Mercedes-Benz are on the line if players can snag a hole-in-one.
“It keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and you know we try and add something new and exciting each and every year,” Fanning said.
“It’s pretty massive that we can do things like that and just keep making the day bigger and better and hopefully raise more money for those in need, and actually raise more awareness.”
Fans who want a chance to win a year’s supply of Balter beer, or would like to make a donation or purchase merch designed by street artist Sid Tapia, can visit the Mick Fanning Charity Golf Day website.
