Within the space of a couple of minutes two weeks ago, Mick Fanning became the most famous surfer on the planet.
As the shark attack at the J-Bay Open went viral, Mick was bombarded with questions and interview requests – the first coming as soon as he got on the rescue boat and everyone realised he was physically unscathed.
But what about the aftermath? What did the most famous shark attack since Jaws (21 million youtube views and counting) do to Fanning psychologically?
In this snippet from the American news show 60 Minutes, Fanning talks about how it took a while to sink in and his nightmares after the event.
“we cooked a big barbie and drunk a lot of beers”
He also talks about how he celebrated immediately that evening when he “cooked a big barbie and drunk a lot of beers” – he is Australian after all – and actually what emerges is how surprisingly un-phased he seems by the whole thing.
But then anyone who has the mental composure to punch a shark in the head when it’s trying to bite them is obviously a bit of a legend anyway. Personally we can’t wait to see Mick back in action at the Billabong Pro Tahiti from August 14th.
