Advice for 18-year-old me, by Mick Fanning

By Mick Fanning | Photo by Ryan Miller

Start from the beginning and learn the essence, then you can apply all the other stuff as you go along. The way surfing’s heading right now, there’s room for guys to do both things; go back to the power source but also do big airs. Which we do see, but not regularly. Go play around with single fins more, and learn the speed of the wave instead. Too many guys just race to the end and try to launch the biggest air possible. Riding a single fin teaches you how to flow with the wave, and use what you’ve got when you can. Take that approach and then apply it to high performance, because it’ll really teach you how to use the surfboard differently. With all that said, fuck I love watching airs. It’d be amazing to watch someone do a huge air, and then ride out into a huge (Matt) Hoy hack or something.

You’re 18 man, have fun. Be 18. The industry is very different now. There’s so many eyes these days. I think the way that people are going right now is just really professional, and I think they’re being a lot more conscious of it all. But look, when you’re 18, it’s just time to have fun. There’ll be time to be more serious later. Obviously there’s a time and a place to do things, but you’re 18 once, enjoy it.

Listen to the older guys. When you’re in the presence of older guys, ask a shitload of questions. That was something I really enjoyed doing, sitting down with older guys and learning… just all kinds of things. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.

Salad on a cheeseburger doesn’t make it healthy. I mean, I’m of the belief that if there’s good food, then eat it. Be aware that if you eat good food, you’ll feel better – it’s pretty simple. It’s not as if you’ve gotta go on these fad diets and all that stuff. If you eat well, you’re happy, and when you’re happy, good things happen.