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Mick Fanning has revealed the heartwarming gesture his friends made to him, which helped him recover from the grief of losing his older brother Sean.
The Australian surfing icon has previously been candid about the mental health struggles he suffered following the deaths of his three brothers, Edward, Peter and Sean.
Sean tragically passed away in a car accident in 1998, at the age of 20. Peter passed away from a health condition in 2015, while Edward, who was in his 40s, sadly died while living on a surfing tour camp in Madagascar in 2024.
Last year, the three-time surfing World Champion opened up on how he coped with the passing of his brother Sean, during an interview with NRL great Kieran Foran and Joel Parkinson.
The 44-year-old, who was 17 at the time Sean passed away, revealed that he had suppressed his emotions, locked himself away from everyone and couldn’t even get out of bed.
But in an emotional tell-all interview with Australian entrepreneur and businessman Mark Bouris, Fanning opened up further on that dark period, revealing that it was his community that helped him turn things around.
An emotional Mick Fanning has opened up on the heartache of losing his three brothers, Edward, Peter and
Fanning (pictured bottom centre) took to Instagram and shared an old family photo of himself alongside his brothers Peter, Edward and Sean after hearing of Peter's death just hours before bravely competing in Hawaii in December 2015
‘Probably the most pivotal moment was when I realised how powerful the community is and how much I love the people that surround me,’ Fanning explained.
‘When my first brother Sean passed away, I was 17.
‘I was really struggling. I wouldn’t go out of the house. I was in my room, dark.’
Sean was three years older than Mick, who admitted the pair were: ‘Really close’.
‘I remember it so clearly that I couldn’t get out the house,’ Fanning explained.
‘I couldn’t leave, I didn’t want to see anyone.
‘I didn’t want to take the dog for a walk because someone would say: “I’m sorry”. I couldn’t deal with it.’
But Fanning then lifted the lid on what broke him out of that dark time.
Fanning's brother Edward (left) tragically died last year while he was working in a surfing camp in Madagascar (Mick, right)
Fanning is pictured as a baby being held by his sister Rachel, with his mum Elizabeth and three older brothers Sean, Edward and Peter
‘I remember a whole bunch of mates showed up at my house - they were all in their wetsuits and had their boards and said: “You’re coming surfing”.’
‘I get emotional about it now, but without them, f*** who knows where I could have ended up the local p***head.
‘I feel like if someone in my community needs me, all they need to do is call,’ he told Bouris.
The former professional surfer is now hoping to help others and encourage people to talk about their struggles.
Speaking with Foran and Parkinson last year, he explained that the most courageous thing anyone can do is open up to others about their mental struggles.
'For me, through my journeys, it was always calling a friend, or talking to a parent or my family. Those people who are closest to you, they've got unconditional love. They will try and do whatever they can to try and help you.
'Even if they don't have the answers, it is so easy to research all that now. You've got Top Blokes, you've got It Ain't Weak to Speak [awareness drives], you've got all these mental health lifelines and all these sorts of things.
'It is so easy to get in touch with these people. And in no way should it be embarrassing whatsoever, it is more courageous that you do go and speak up.'
