Leave some water for the rest of us, Mick. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Mick Fanning is a living legend. Three-time world champ. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to surfing as a professional competitor at the national and international level, and as a supporter of a range of charitable foundations. He’s in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Hell, he was attacked by a shark on a live broadcast and pretty much shrugged it off. He’s even got a water spider named after him. Although he’s retired from competitive surfing, he’s made his mark and he’s still making it. This time, he’s making it with a new signature surfboard: The DHD MF Lightning.
“The MF Lightning is one of those once-in-a-lifetime surfboards that earns a permanent place in the rack,” DHD Surf wrote. “Born from Mick Fanning’s original Championship Tour-winning DNA model, it keeps the same proven foundation but has been fine-tuned for more everyday spark.”
The board came from a close working relationship with Darren Handley (the DH in DHD) after Fanning retired. He was looking for something that would be faster and sharper, but that would thrive in smaller, weaker surf while still holding its own when it gets a little heavier.
“The DNA has been the bread and butter of our careers,” Fanning said. “So now that I’m retired, I have a lot more time on my hands and I can trial and error a lot of things. I wanted a fresh spark in my boards; different concaves; trying different rockers; different fin placements, and I feel like it’s finally all just come together. That’s what this is.”
It’s been under his feet for a while now, and he’s not getting tired of it anytime soon. “It’s something that I’m really excited to use each and every time in a range of different conditions, which is awesome,” he said.
