Eugene “Mick” Fanning learned to surf at the age of five in coastal New South Wales at a town called Ballina, but did not go full on until his family moved to Tweed Heads on the Queensland border, when he was twelve.

There he had access to great surf and soon began to make a name for himself. He placed in the top three at the Australian National Titles in 1996.

In 2001, he won the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, one of Australia’s toughest contests.

He finished 2002 as rookie of the year winning the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay and earning a slot on the 2002 tour as the World Qualifying Series (WQS) champion. 2008 marked Fanning’s seventh year on the Foster's Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and his 10th year on the ASP WQS.

He began his 2007 World Title campaign with a victory at the Quiksilver Pro, the first event on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, putting himself on top of the ratings. He won the Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil on November 6, 2007 placing above Taj Burrow and Kelly Slater clinching the 2007 ASP world title (he lost to Slater in 2008.) Fanning, whose father is from Co. Donegal, is married to model Karissa Dalton.

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