Unbowed, unbroken: Mick Fanning and his mum celebrate ecstasy, not agony
The Fanning surfing family has had more than its share of tragedy and loss. They refuse to drown in heartbreak. They don’t focus on the darkness. They focus on love.
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Agony and ecstasy. That’s how legendary surfer Mick Fanning’s mother, Elizabeth “Liz” Osborne, describes her whole life — not just 2024.
But last year was indeed a bittersweet rollercoaster.
It was the year Fanning welcomed a second child — daughter Lyla Skye — with partner Breeana Randall.
Her birth came less than two weeks after his older brother, Ed, died after suffering cardiac complications when a cut to his foot became infected while he was working at a surf camp in Madagascar.
It was also the year the Penrith-born, Gold Coast-based Mick — a three-time World Surfing Champion, was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Sally Pearson and Mark Skaife.
And it was the year he became the last surviving brother in the family.
The loss of Ed, in the wake of the deaths of Mick’s two other brothers — Sean in 1998 and Peter in 2015.
Now the only surviving siblings are Mick, and older sister, Rebecca.
But this is not a family that focuses on the dark.
They focus on love.
Ahead of Fanning’s role as ambassador for the LIV Golf Tour in Adelaide in February, mother and son (who also work together: Liz is Fanning’s business manager) chatted with Stellar about gratitude, grief and giving back.
Mick and Liz, you spent the holidays together in the United States [Mick’s wife, Breeanna is American]. What was that like?
Mick: It was the first time we’ve been over in California for Christmas since Bree and I met. It’s been cool to come out and spend it with her family and we flew Mum out as well, which was special for the kids to have those grandparents around.
Liz: I really love Bree and her family. And it was lovely to be with the kids, Xander and Lyla. Bree is such a sweet person. She was lovely to me. Mick is always too. So it was just lovely. It was freezing though. I couldn’t believe it.
Mick, you described 2024 as a journey. How do you both look back on last year, and how do you go into 2025?
Mick: It was a wild year for sure. It’s a lot of down times with family stuff, but then also to have my daughter born, that was just magical. As a family, we stuck together and we really looked out for each other. So for 2025 it’s more of the same. Just look after each other and really celebrate the good times and celebrate how lucky we are to be able to live a really amazing life. And just don’t dwell on the sad times.
Liz: [2024] was awful. My son Edward passed away in Madagascar on the 24th of March. But one of the most beautiful things that happened is that Lyla, [Mick’s daughter] was born on the 4th of April. And so that was really joyful. I’ve always said my life is like the agony and the ecstasy. In one month we had both. As a mother, I feel so sorry for Mick because he’s lost his three brothers but then he had his little girl and that was so beautiful. So it’s been a rollercoaster but what I’ve always taught my children is have courage and we can get through it together.
Liz, does what you’ve been through in your life make getting to spend those moments with Mick’s family over the holidays more special?
It does. Because Mick was the youngest of five children and I was a single mum, he had nothing really. I had a very, very good job but he didn’t have all the beautiful things that Xander and Lyla have. And also the parents. [Mick and Breeanna] are just amazing parents. They share everything. They talk to each other about any decisions. Unfortunately, I never had that. I was alone. But we had lots and lots of love
How has your relationship changed since Mick, you’ve become a father?
Probably in the sense that [before kids] you didn’t really appreciate all the things that your parents do for you. [Now] you learn why they do things, why you have to have things a certain way. Me and my siblings, we probably would get up to mischief every now and then but Mum was just always so supportive.
Are there parts of you Liz that you can see in the way Mick parents?
My children were the most important thing in my life. I wanted a big family. I was pretty lonely as a kid. [Mick’s] always there for them. And I felt that even though I had to go back to work, I was always there for my children. They called me the lioness. I remember when Mick was on the tour, I had to do the contracts with him. And all the guys, I’m telling you, they were frightened of me. And that’s the way I liked it!
How has becoming a parent changed you Mick?
Growing up and all through my professional career, it was always about me. I did things around what I thought would make me better. Now it’s more the fact that I’ve just got to be there for my kids and my family and the things that I want to do sort of just fit in when the kids don’t actually have anything to do. I’m the lowest common denominator at the moment.
Since you retired from the tour in 2018, you’ve had a varied career. [Among others, Fanning has a beer company and has partnered in a wave resort coming to the Gold Coast.] How do you decide what to put your name too and have you ever been told that as a former tour surfer, you need to stay in your lane? It’s whatever fills up the fun cup really. I think people who tell you to stay in your lane are probably scared or jealous of what you do. And in situations where you might not know the answers or you might not know what you’re doing, I think that’s the beauty of it all. I think you learn the most when you’re uncomfortable in a situation and you’re out of your comfort zone. If I don’t know something and I’ve got to go work on it, they are the more fun jobs.
So what’s your golfing knowledge like?
To be really honest. I’m actually pretty average. It is something that I only started once I finished the tour. I got invited to the Presidents Cup Pro-Am. Ash Barty wanted me to come and play on her team and from there it sort of took off, learning how to play and all that. I think now it’s a really exciting time for golf. You’ve got the Liv Tour, where yes it’s about competing, but they make it more fun and that’s probably where my golf is. My role at the event is pretty much to have fun.
Liz, thanks to your son’s surfing career, and also the incident in 2015 when he punched the shark while surfing in Jeffreys Bay in South Africa, your family’s have been thrust into the spotlight. How comfortable are you with that?
I’ve always been in the public eye. When I was a kid, I was captain of the school and then I had an amazing job running a hospital as Executive Director of Nursing. I’ve always sort of been public speaking and teaching. But I think with my family, I’m just really proud of them because we had nothing. I’m so proud that they’ve done so well because my motto is you have to live your dream.
What inspires you about your son?
He’s always worked hard. He’s always run the race. And mostly won it. But at the back of it all he’s a giving, lovely, kind, generous person. He gives back. Helping people in times of need is very important and he’s done that. And that’s what I’m so proud of. He’s such a wonderful person.
— Join Mick at the supercharged LIV Golf Adelaide tournament, the loudest event in golf this February, with tickets and more information at livgolf.com.
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