Shark attack survivor and three-time world champ Mick Fanning makes surprise pivot away from surfing; buys studio in Byron Bay teaching “whitest sport on earth!”

"I just feel straighter after it," says Mick.

The three-time world surfing champion and shark attack survivor, Mick Fanning, might be making a wildcard cameo at the Narrabeen Pro tomoz, but his thoughts will be, likely, on his bold new biz venture, a yoga and pilates studio in Byron Bay, one of twenty in that sub-tropical, wellness utopia.

Fanning is the face of “new fitness concept FS8”, a combo of yoga, pilates and “tone” and launched by the company behind F45, an Australian fitness chain that offers standardised forty-five minute circuit training and which is valued at around half-a-bill US and counts Marky Mark as one of its shareholders. 

(Its co-founder Adam Gilchrist owns a chain of pretty houses worth forty-mill up the east coast, most of ‘em bought for hitherto unheard of prices.)

Mick’s studio, which is a franchise, will be one of eight FS8 studios launched simultaneously across Australia.

“I’m always looking at businesses … and Byron is one of those places where I think it’ll do really well,” Fanning, who has scoliosis, told News Corp.

“Yoga, pilates and tone is something I’ve used throughout my career. It was something that really helped with obviously strengthening the core but also lengthening muscles while strengthening them.” People forget you’ve got to stretch, everyone just goes to the gym and lifts weights most of the time, but I find pilates, yoga and tone are ways to not only work out but for me having scoliosis I just feel straighter after it, which is perfect.”

Yoga has been labelled the “whitest sport on earth”,and was the subject of a brave essay in The Atlantic in 2014 where its “white privilege”, “upper class privilege”  and “implicit racism” was laid bare, shattering the woke bona fides of tens of thousands of white skinny gals in plastic pants everywhere.