Surfer, Shark-Fighter Mick Fanning Is Taking 2016 Off

The last twelve months of surfer Mick Fanning’s life have been gruelling, to say that least

In July, he had a dangerous run-in with a shark mid-competition. In December, Fanning’s older brother Peter tragically and unexpectedly passed away at the age of 43. Six weeks later, Mick announced that he and wife Karissa Dalton were splitting.

Pile that on top of his professional stresses, and it’s no surprise he needs a break.

And that’s precisely what he plans on taking, having announced that he won’t compete full-time on the World Surf League tour in 2016.

"Last year was definitely intense - what happened at J-Bay [the shark attack], being in a title race and the unfortunate passing of my brother," he said in a statement (reported by the SMH).

"There was so much build up with everything happening. I got to a point at the end of the year where I felt empty. I didn't feel like I had much to give back.

"This year, I'm going to take some time off and have a bit of a personal year… Just to regroup and re-stoke the fire.”

He won’t abandon the board entirely, however.

“I'm going to compete at Snapper and I'm going to compete at Bells and then I'm going to take some time off from there,” he said.

Significantly, he also plans on returning to Jeffreys Bay, where he famously battled that shark.

"I feel like there's something there that I want to go and face. I want to make sure that I scratch that off the list,” he said.

Photo: Instagram.