see him, and I just thought he was dead - he
was gone.
“I mean here I was trying to let my own
experience pass by and suddenly I had all
these shark encounters now happen almost all
at once.
“We always knew the sharks were there and
you never think it will happen to you - until
it happens to you. I was lucky that it got my
board and that I wasn’t laying down, otherwise
it probably would have been my legs. Some
people have said a little wave might have
pushed me to the side just as it came in but
who knows - it got the left side of my board
and ripped out a fin, but my legrope is on my
right so it didn’t get tangled up like Mick’s.
“There was a lot of emotion after but it wasn’t
until I got home that it started to really hit
me. When you see Mick straight after (his
encounter), on the ski with Peter Mel, he’s
relaxed and talking about it all quite normal,
but during his interview 30 minutes later you
see a different person as the emotion starts to
overwhelm him. I think it was kind of the same
for me in that it took some time for it all to digest,
for it all to register - what had happened.
“It looked like the emotion hit Mick pretty hard.
Maybe it’s because he got to see the video
straight after and that wouldn’t have helped.
Then he had his mate, Julian, paddling in to
save his life, and the fact that it went out live on
TV - so much media. We both had very similar
experiences but the outcome has been very
different for both of us. Only a couple of people
witnessed my encounter, but his is everywhere
all the time, in all the photos and video. The
media kept chasing Mick, trying to catch his
first surf back, but I just went home and back to
my normal life, back to teaching and spending
more time with my kids. The media pressure
and seeing the video of your own attack - well
I didn’t have all of that.
“
I guess when
something like this
happens you’re in your
own mind, and your
mind can play tricks on
you. Your mind can turn
shadows into demons ...
you sort of have different
self doubts ... yeah I’ve had
nightmares - Mick Fanning