Surfer Mick Fanning’s equity has just increased 10 fold and the media sharks are circling

After fighting off a shark while competing in the World Surf League final in South Africa the ‘Mick Fanning’ brand has gone up considerably and he may be fighting off more sharks than he bargained for.

Nicknamed White Lightening, Mick Fanning responded quickly after realising there was a shark directly behind him “I had an instinct someone was behind me and then all of a sudden I started getting pulled under the water and the thing came up and I was on my board and I was getting dragged under by my leg rope, it was dragging me, I felt like it was just dragging me underwater and then all of a sudden my leg rope broke…”

The horrific incident was caught on film and Mick said he has watched the footage so many times saying it was surreal and could not believe he came out unscathed physically but commenting that mentally he was a bit of a mess. At this point in time he is only concerned about being with his family and friends not thinking about competitions or world titles.

Stating he would be happy not to compete ever again, the fact that his equity has snowballed, he may not have to.

Jonathan Pease branding expert from Sydney agency Tongue and Jack Watts, managing director of sports marketing firm Bastion EBA commenting in the www.bandt.com.au article by John Bastick that, despite the traumatising incident playing an emotional toll on Fanning, it does have the potential to attract major brands and if managed correctly the dollar value could be considerable.

While Mick spends time with family and friends, reflecting and probably re-watching the footage over and over, the final impact of the incident on Mick Fanning’s surfing career remains to be seen.