“A statement of contemporary elegance, but with undeniable heart and soul.”

The three-time world surfing champion and shark attack survivor, Mick Fanning, has augmented his already impressive property holdings with a three-mill buy a little off the Gold Coast Highway and just under the flightpath for Coolangatta airport. 

Four hundred yards or thereabouts to the Gold Coast’s fifth best point.

The joint, which backs onto a bird sanctuary, was a hot target for buyers in an already over-heated market. Three mill for a house a ten-minute walk from the beach? A few years back, you’d be stretched to catch a buyer willing to shovel a million bucks at it.

Anyway, 5 Farrell Drive, Tugun, is pretty enough, has three-beds, features a three-foot indoor mini ramp, owner Luc Conforti is a local shredder, and the house is, if we can quote the promotional material, “A statement of contemporary elegance, but with undeniable heart and soul.”

An astute investor, Fanning made a surprise pivot away from surfing four months ago when he bought a yoga studio in Byron, a brave move as the West falls deeper into its culture wars, cultural appropriation, of course, a not-too-distant cousin of that gravest crime of all… racism. 

Brrrrrrr. Shiver up spine etc.

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.

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

No word, yet, if Sarah Foote, the mysterious strawberry blonde who invited herself into Fanning’s beachfront house at nearby Bilinga and who was subsequently charged and convicted of unlawful stalking and entering a dwelling with intent (sentenced to fifteen months in prison with immediate release on parole), will be invited to celebrate the happy purchase.

Japan hit real hard after Games, a three-hundred percent increase in COVID infections… 

The mayor of a pretty little hamlet near Ichinomiya, Chiba, where Brazilian Italo Ferreira and Hawaiian Carissa Moore became surfing’s first gold medal Olympians, has come out swinging after his town experienced a surge in COVID hits after the event. 

Eyes fluttering behind his medical-issue paper mask, city of Isumi Mayor Hiroshi Ota said, “From around the time the event began, the number of people (in the area near the venue) increased, causing infections to spread.”

See, from late July locals began contracting COVID around the city’s Taito beach, next to Ichinomiya’s Tsurigasaki beach. 

And even though COVID protocols meant the event was held without spectators, plenty of locals hung out at Taito to watch. Shops, restaurants and so on were busy as hell. 

It ain’t a fanciful take. 

The whole country got hit pretty hard after the Games, a three hundred percent increase in COVID infections, up from four k a day to 12, although the Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Tamayo Marukawa spat on that fire saying, “I don’t think the Olympics caused infections to spread… When someone tested positive, they were transported to treatment facilities and other institutions. People they had close contact with were swiftly identified and quarantined.”

Surfers, the worst etc. 

"I had to take all four of my bottom front teeth out and will be getting implants. This process will take about 10 months or so."

It may come as a surprise, to some but not all, that wavepools will beat the hell out of you. Ain’t no different to anywhere.

I’ve seen, close up, two head injuries and a dislocated shoulder, heads wounds at Wavegarden, dislocated shoulder at Surf Ranch. An orgy of blood followed by soap and towels.

All that pretty blue water water and troupes of lifeguards ain’t gonna save you if you go over the handlebars in twelve inches of water. Four years ago, I was surprised by the power of the takedown and how long I was held under for at the Lemoore tank.

It’s a good feeling.

Without risk, what do we have?

The Hawaiian longboarder Sally Cohen, the sister of Jamie O’Brien’s lover Tina, and pretty regularly up there at number eight in the world rankings, got belted at Surf Ranch a few days ago, losing four teeth after a date with the vinyl covered concrete bottom.

After surgery, Cohen wrote,

“Unfortunately from my injury at the Surf Ranch I had fractured 2 of my bottom front teeth at the root and couldn’t save them. Along with those 2 teeth, the other 2 teeth located next to them had experienced quite a lot of trauma. So I had to take all four of my bottom front teeth out and will be getting implants later this year/early next year. This process will take about 10 months or so.”

Has the injury taken the wind out of her sails, got hurt, ergo no more pools?

“I was just informed by my doctor that I will be able to get back in the water in less than 2 weeks,” Cohen wrote yesterday. “This gives me a tiny bit of time to prepare for this years first WSL CT event at the Surf Ranch.
Recently I’ve been asked by many whether getting injured is worth the risk as a professional athlete, and I say yes, 110%. Every setback I face, every bump in the road, I only come back from it feel more determined and more motivated to be stronger and better than ever before. After my injury at the pool, the very next day I was already wanting to paddle back out again. I truly do believe a positive mindset can make the biggest difference when it comes to recovering and I can’t wait to go back to this wave and win the event!”