Three Doting Dads feat. Mick Fanning

Welcome back to three doting dads. I'm Maddie Jay, I'm Ash, and I'm Mick Fanning. And normally this podcast is purely just about parenting, the highs, the lows, the relatability, and no advice.

No, usually we don't offer any advice.

But I reckon this one's going to be a little bit different.

B Maybe some life advice, maybe some paddle advice, how to surf better, maybe for Matt, not for me. I don't think I could take the feedback.

Nick.

We wanted to say, firstly, thank you for welcoming us into your house on the Gold Coast.

Yeah, it's beautiful, and like all good guests, we have brought you something to say thank you.

It would be rude if we came empty handed.

Yeah, yeah, it's not scary, it's all good. When I was growing up, me and my friends used to watch a movie if you was called Fanning the Fire beautiful, and we used to I was saying to Matt, we used to have one of those. My dad's a medical rep used to be medical rep, and it used to have like a small TV that you got from a doctor surgery that had a VHS in it that you could slow mow it down. We should to slow mow it down when you were hitting the lip or whatever.

Thank you guys.

When we started the podcast, we had a bit of a list. We didn't really think we'd have that many guests, to be honest, we thought it would.

Just be Ash and myself talking shit.

And we put a list together who would we like on the podcast and your name was thrown out as one of the top shelf guests and Ash said, leave it with me. I'm going to do some work and I'll be honest. I gave him about a five percent chair. I'm locking in this interview. I thought, if ever there was someone who's being pulled pillart a post for requests on podcasts, it would be yourself.

Absolutely, and I look, I connected some dots. Thankfully. I met Sam, so shout out to Sam, who's a great guy, and I said, have you got can you help me out? Obviously he's managed to connect us, and yeah, thank you for inviting us to your house, because I mean I wouldn't want us in your house, but.

Some different people.

Here we are, so those of you are listening, just a little bit of an introduction for Mick. He's a three time world champion. Here's a nine time Australian Surfer of the year.

Is it nine times?

It is?

You? Look?

I love it.

Pretends I wanted that many times.

I stopped counting when I got to five.

Yeah, it's definitely, it's definitely nine I've done. There was conflicting articles, but it's nine. You single, as I say, you carried a generation of Australian surfers on your back for a very long time and definitely one of my growing up watching obviously Fanning White Lightning as we call you in my household, just shred. So thank you for having us.

I think the most surprising thing when we were doing some research into you, If anyone who's not familiar, you're originally from Penrith. So how does a boy from Penrith become a world champion surfer? Do you remember your first little taste of the ocean or was it love at first sight?

Yeah, I do, so to answer your question, how to surf in Penrith, we don't.

Exactly.

So my parents separated when I was pretty young and we moved to CoP's Harbor with my dad and we lived it was five minute walk from the beach, and my elder brothers Ed and Pete just found surfing, just fell in love with surfing, and so we just tagged along. And my introduction to surfing was sort of rapidly because my brother Pete, he doesn't have any boundaries how many years older. He is nine years older than me, yeah, and.

So you're the youngest on the youngest of five and.

So he just he's pretty much like, yeah, I'll take his surfing and he get me out the back and goes all right.

So that's how it obviously works.

So that's that, and he did that, like I speak to his daughter and she's still haunted by I remember this one day took her out snapper. It was like three foot and she's like five years old and she's on the front care he just laughs. But yeah, that's pretty much how our introduction. And then from there though, we moved after coughs after surfing a little bit, moved back down to Campbelltown.

Classic surf breakout.

So I got more into skating at that time, but my brother Ed was still so in love with surfing. He would catch the train from Campbelltown to Woollongong or Manly, depending on where you want to surf. And so, yeah, thirteen year old kid on the train with his surfboard in the Western suburbs. Probably when it's that.

That's that like a couple hour trip for anyone who.

I think it's yeah and a half two hours, especially like back then when it was probably like you know, like public transport.

Wasn't as frequent as what it is.

You couldn't get an uber. My old man lived in Balmaina. He was the same. He used to travel to Manly every day so whenever me growing up, and I was like, oh, couldn't be bothered going surf, and he's like, I used to get a bus and he's not eighty sixty. I used to get a bus in the train and you're complaining. You live down the road from you know, one of the best beaches in the world. So yeah, I can definitely feel that.

Do you remember was there a point or was it something that just was gradual, that desire to be the best? Do you remember going I want to be world champion? Or was it just a case of wanting to be better than your brothers?

Sorry? Or it was it just like fuck, I'm good.

Definitely wasn't that one. No, So it was I don't know. I always wanted to be really good at something growing up. I was into cross country running, I was into soccer, and surfing was pretty much the last thing I would do on the weekend after I did all those other things. And it wasn't until like I was sewingto soccer. I thought I was going to be a pro soccer player. And we moved to the Gold Coast and it sort of went to sign up at Palmis Soccer Club and

Did you rock up? And there was just no one there?

How old were you at this point?

I was twelve?

So the competitive fire of you, I can't wait, especially for a club like Palm Beach is a pretty big club around here.

Yeah, how you missed that?

You?

Was that your mum?

I'm not too sure. I'm really not too sure. I we were just thinking there'd be someone there. We thought it was sign on, but it was just wasn't wasn't happening.

I did a similar thing but went to the wrong field, but I didn't become a world I mean, I don't tell that story.

But then jumped in the car, went down to Deba and my brother Sean was meeting up with the guys from Quicksilver to get sponsored, and I just went surfing. And I came in and remember Dang Taquino and Scott Peacock, who were the Quicksilver guys at the time. They came up to me and I was like, oh, you're looking for my brother, and they're like, is that your brother? And they're like, we'll sponsor you too, and I.

Was like, look, they just been watching you surf.

Yeah, so they were watching us both. And long story short, didn't go back to soccer obviously, and just surfing just took over.

So when you when you first get sponsored, what does that look like. Is it a board and a bit of money per week or.

Sticker at the front of the Yeah, he is the biggest thing, is the gramat because I know as a like, I'm what nine years younger than you, and like, I remember seeing all you guys surfing with yes stickers on the front. I was like, how do I get one of those stickers on the front of my board? For sure, you've got to be sponsored, so heeps people to pretend like me, I'm still pretending.

I think my first contract was five hundred dollars worth of clothes sick and a winter wet suit and a summer wet suit.

Wow, that's a fair whack at the time too.

For sure, I had nothing from soccer.

How many stickers did you get?

But yeah, so that was pretty much here. And then started at PBC pum Beach crumbin high school, and our seat was pretty much consisted of all the best surface in this area. So you know, I sat with Dean Morrison, Joe Parkinson and there was a few other tough crowd. So yeah, I just those two were destined to be pro surfer and I was just like, well, I'm going to do whatever they're doing so I can be pro served too.

How was your mom at that point? Did she think this is amazing, You've just been sponsored, this is your future?

Well Ed was sponsorible Billibong before Sean and ed were just so in love with surfing, you know, great surfers. So she was like, look, follow your dreams. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, then you know, go to school, get a real job.

Yeah, did you have any backup plan at all?

Yes, soccer roos mate didn't know.

She was pretty adamant that we had to go to school and keep learning. That was the one thing. But then it was just like, follow your dreams. She was always say that, follow your dreams. And she tells grandkids, now, just go and follow your dreams. So crack. Yeah, And so that was pretty much it. We just we just went for it. And you know, I sort of as time went on. By the time I got to like year eleven and twelve had contracts that I could live off.

So I was like, and you finished school all the way through?

No? I left halfway through year twelve. I wanted to finish, but they sure you did me. They told me if I missed one more day of school, then I wasn't going to get my OP. So I was like, well, so.

Yeah, we're actually Micky and me. We're quite similar, not in terms of athletic ability, but we're both kind of I guess mummy boys. Would you call yourself that?

Yeah? Probably perfect?

Great, Yeah, Matt's one of five as well. That's the middle child, so it's been nurtured.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, the middle one.

But I never had I never had the alter ego though.

Yeah, like you did, Gene.

When did that come out?

Who branded you with the alter ego Eugene?

My mate Ado Wiseman actually drew that one. Naughty Eugene.

Is that Eugene there?

That's naughty Eugene. Yeah. So yeah, what happened was I didn't It was after Sean passed away. I didn't drink for a long time. I shouldn't have been drinking anyway. I was only seventeen, but I went down to his twenty first birthday and got pretty drunk and he was like, I've never seen that side of you, and that was it. He just goes that was like you were different persons.

Since becoming a dad. Do you think that Eugene suppressed much more?

Surely? Oh for sure, for sure.

Mc muffin comes out much more.

Becoming a dad. It's like kids don't have an off switch. If you're hungover, it's game over. You might as well.

That's when I do my best parenting.

I love him just sitting on the couch and just sooking my way through a hangover. But yeah, I just I don't really drink that often anymore, and if I do, it's for a very special occasion.

Do you remember the last time Eugene made an appearance.

Four Yeah, it's probably about three weeks ago. Is he still I left him there? Yeah, I woke up the next day and hungover. Parenting was great.

It is brutal, isn't it. I Mean it's so bad. And like around that time, you would have been probably just going into the ASP Tour was what it was called then.

When I was younger. No, I was doing the Junior Series at that stage, and then.

You won the Junior QS.

No, I never never actually won, Like the series always was sort of like second or third mark and didn't go.

Yeah, the three that rivalry like friendly rivalry to the three. I could imagine that when I surf now and I'm sitting there and I see like a couple of grom's all together coming out, I'm like, funk, I'm getting out. I can imagine over the years and the amount of people looked in and went.

Shit, happens.

It happened.

If the three of us are out in the water, it's a bad day for everyone else. We're just paling around each other, and we just turned into sharks where we just freaking just ignore everyone else in the line. We're just there to annoy the shit out of it.

You kind of earn the right around here or around the world, all three of you. Really, you sort of earned the right to be like mix here. Well you can have this one mate.

Yeah, So what was your rookie year? My rookie year on tour was two thousand and two. Did the QS going into that, but yeah, rookie year two thousand and two, all three of us were on tour. I think Parker got second in the world that year. I ended up fifth, and Dingo didn't do that great.

Did you get Rookie of the Year that year? Yeah? Yeah, first year, Yeah, amongst best surfer of the year. Australia or was it the year.

After maybe a year after? Yeah, they sort of with the Australian surfers of the year. It's it's like whoever's on top of the.

On top when you had your rookie year. For the older boys, did they welcome you with open arms or is there like any level of initiation.

High school hazing?

Yeah, a bit of both. Really. It was funny. So because there was the three of us, plus we had Nathan Hedge as well, Yeah, Hoggie, Yeah, the whole we sort of traveled as a pack and so it was sort of we probably had more confidence than what we deserved. But then we had like we had great people look after us, like Mick lo bo Emin and Hockey looky somebody old.

It just the done thing that the older boys will like allow you to come under their wing, or is it how does that work with the hierarchy of like, oh, let's look after Mickey's how young were you at the time?

I was twenty turn twenty one that year? But no, it was sort of more like those guys enjoyed a beer and every time that they asked you if you wanted to be say yes, yes. So we sort of build that rapport over that. And plus we've known them for a long time growing up through older brothers and stuff like that, so.

Like all the board riders and stuff as well, exactly, and I remember like, look it like board rder lineups, and it was just like, how do you compete with that?

Oh? Total?

Really, I mean the culture back then being ASP it was like, I mean we look at two and now these athletes, right, they've sort of evolved from you know, instead of like hockey offering your beer, it's now it's like a saue bowl straight to the gym, Like, you know, standing next to these guys, you're like, holy shit, Yeah, they're built. So I do recall you had that injury to your hamstring and then you sort of came back

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, So I tore my hamstringing off the bone in two thousand and four. But before that, like mate, I was having as much fun as anything else, you know, early and he's single, having a great time around the world as you would. Yeah, and then once I tore my hamstring off the bar and I realized that I was taking it for granted.

Like a reality check.

It was a big reality check. And it was the first time, like pretty much from sixteen to twenty, things just happened so fast, so we didn't even get a break just to look at what we have achieved or whatever. And yeah, I had six months on the couch, and so it was the first time I actually got to learn about diet, learn about proper training and all these different things. And probably the biggest thing was I watched an old clip and it just I saw that I

The end of it. So how are the boys then when they're like, hey, make have a beer and You're like, not for me, I'm having a green tea.

Yeah.

Please.

It was a bit weird to be honest at the start, like because back then, because there was forty four guys on tour, you would win your first teat and you'd have the next day off, so it could have been with the waiting period, it could have been that day, it could have been three days off. So usually you'd get eighteen guys go out and have a good time. Yeah. Yeah, it was really different that people would be like, come have a beer and like, nah, I'm good, like and everyone.

You're okay, Like yeah, imagine.

Back in those days too, like if you said you weren't drinking, then there's like.

Something was wrong wrong.

Yeah, it sort of became part of the culture.

Yeah. Yeah, it was a bit different, but then yeah, it's time evolved and just started turning and just turning Jim junkies.

Yeah, do you think that, Like I mentioned the Brazilian Storm with their injection into the tour because they're so competitive and you see these guys on the tour now, like Philip who just won Jefferies like last night, and Gabe especially, and you spent some time with Gabe over you rear, just through sponsorship and stuff, the drive and the training, like he's got his own facility in Brazil for young and upcoming surfers to get the right training.

I think like they're crazy, crazy talented, Like that's one thing. But I think also too, it's a hunger from where they come from. A lot of them grew up with nothing, and you know, as history goes, the kids that grew up with nothing, the ones that go and just keep fighting the Yeah, you talk to any of them and asked where they come from, they're all the same. You know.

The only way out was sport and winning.

Yeah, it's either soccer or surfing, and so that's where all their fire comes from. And then it's sort of I guess like for Gabe, Philippe and Italy they're all maids. Well, they grew up as mates, and then it all becomes this thing where I'm not letting my mate beat me. So they're fighting within them.

Yeah, perpetuates.

Yeah, it just keeps putting them into this different stratosphere. But I think we start to learn, you know, I think kids are starting to learn that they have to create this grit or create this fire from somewhere and we're slowly seeing kids figure out what works what doesn't. I think this year is as competitive as.

It gets, which yeah, it's crazy. I go like a specific gym in Sydney and they're getting younger and younger than guys that are coming because they're like, I want to build this strength so I can do turns like mc fanning did when you know, when he was on tour, and when you know, these guys are doing massive hacks, I'm not going to do that ring and wet at thirty kilos, you know.

So Yeah, it's sort of a funny one for me too though, because I want kids to enjoy surfing for what it is, and that's you know, go and have surf with your mates and stuff.

Not be so clinical.

Yeah, such an expression of yourself too.

How do you convey that as a legend of the sport? Get out of the gym?

Yeah, I think it's sort of a twofold sort of answer, Like a lot of it was. When we were growing up, Surfing wasn't seen as a career. It was just something that you did and.

The five hundred bucks worth of clothes.

Right now, parents see that, Oh, these guys can go and make lots of money and become you know, it's almost that soccer parent and so it's a tough one. And so it's more I think it's more on the parent side of things to be like, hey, you just go have fun, you know, don't worry about this contest or that contest. When you're twelve, it doesn't matter if you win or not, as long as you really enjoying it.

There's always plenty of time in those teenage years to have fun and then find some focus. I can just see in ten years time, if we have this conversation again, You're going to be standing on the beach in Xander's going to be competing.

You're like.

That, I'll be whistling on the beach.

I'll be at home on the internet.

When you look back at the three world championships. Kind of imagine it would be like a child trying to pick your favorite. Is there one that stands out when you're having those moments on the back porch having a drink, and you think, oh, that one stands out bigger than the others.

They're all really different, you know. The first one was really I was in a world of unknown and it was a world of just trial and error and competing against icons of the sport Kelly Andy, Taj Parker. I was just trying to figure it out as it went, and I was just so focused on it that nothing else came into my world. So that one was a bit different, but I was really proud of myself for figuring out a system. But then from there, two thousand

Yeah, was it pretty consistent with each of the three that come down, like when you have the high of winning, does it last? To say each time?

Two thousand and seven was probably a bit more. I was probably more exhausted the other ones. It was sort of just up to me putting pressure on myself that. Yeah, I felt like the last one was more tradesmanlike where to be really honest, I doubted myself every time I pad out for a height, like I'm not winning this, I'm not winning that, I'm not good enough, Like.

Because you're getting older or what was?

Yeah, I was older and just you know, talking about the new kids that were coming through. You had Gabe, you had John John, and you had all these kids that just were just doing incredible things.

I can't imagine how Kelly Slater feels having to go three or four different times, the changing of the gut. But he's still there.

And I say it all the time, I'm glad I quit.

That's stressful.

And so you're all really really different. But as you said, they're like different children.

Yeah, I suppose like retirement. You're retired in twenty eighteen, do you feel that you were at your peak performance? How do you think you would go today and look be as modest as you like in a Jeffrey's Bay heat today.

Yeah. Look, you know for places, there's some places on tour that are still surf traditionally, and Jbay is one of them. Pipeline Choku like those ones are ones that are still surf traditional style of surfing like I look at. I won't talk about myself, but watching guys like Parker, Andy and Kelly, like Kelly in his prime would still still believable.

There's a reason he's got so many world titles. Just not a fluke. Levin's not a fluke.

He was this world.

Oh yeah, Micky, we had the privilege of meeting your wife before we started recording. I did have a little look at your social media and it just seems like you guys are so picture pertect.

From the Bachelor, so we all got to watch their whole love unfold.

He rivals it. I think that there was like a Mister Universe competition for couples.

Up top Husband of the Year mate.

Where did you guys meet? How did you guys come together?

Yeah? It was funny. We sort of met by mutual friends and yeah, I met in the States and it was just a weird one best play, so explain It was I had a friend and she had a friend and they hooked up and then she came over to pick up her friend. You know, so she didn't have tom.

That was a morning meet up. You actually met in the morning.

Yeah, and you walked in and I didn't meet her the night before, but we had all been put on the same table and I was just I was just Eugene. And then she walked in wearing my jacket. I was like, whoa, that's a bit friend h and but she just picked it up.

Yeah.

I guess someone stole her jacket. And you have a jacket. My mom goes mixed gun home.

Just take his jacket, he doesn't need it.

Yeah, how quickly do you drop in? I am a three time world champion, So is that not at all?

Not at all? What about a nine times austraie that's perfect?

Yeah? So yeah, really sort of a random meeting.

Yeah, isn't it always like it's not always the case your case is not yours was completely public and on TV for everyone to see.

Should we talk about it?

They put you in a room together. But yeah, it's crazy. It's like a friend of a friend and like just a chance meeting. And now you know, you've got obviously a beautiful home, a beautiful son, and you've got married.

And at what point were you thinking, maybe I will have kids, maybe I won't, because you know, were you in your mid to late thirties at that point.

Yeah, I don't know. I had a marriage breakdown before, and so I was like, I'm just gonna just sail off in the same seat and be a nomad. And then yeah, when I met bre we just stayed in touch and kept talking and she one day she was visiting out from the States and she's like, I want to move to Australia. I was like, really cool.

How long have you guys been together for?

At that point it's probably I think it was like a second or third time she was out here.

Oh wow.

Yeah, but we'd caught up a fair bit because she was just living around the corner for my best mate as well in the States, so we caught up a fair bit and then from there it was like all right, but then you sort of just you just see how things go, like you don't put any pressure on it. And then one day we're just sort of talking and it was like, well, you know, would you want kids? Do you want kids? And we're both like, yeah, let's

And then it's very mature. Yeah, getting a very mature thing to get your body right to do anything that kids.

You dropped aneat when you were doing a photo shoot for the pregnancy. How much planning went into that moment?

Oh, this was such a funny day. I sort of came out at two different angles where we went in for our first scan, and so its.

Nerve wracking scans awesome.

I loved it.

I was saying that every.

Scan I got motion sickness from the heartbeat.

I love it. Oh, I'm so stoked to be a part of it. But yeah, and so I was sitting there, I was like, hey, we've got to do a photo and you know, we've got to let it out into the world so you know, someone else doesn't break the news or something like that. So I had my mate staying with us at the time, Corey Wilson, and I'm like, let's go do a photo shoot. Once we knew that she was pregnant, I was the right thing to do is propose and.

Lock it down.

Yeah, we're in the States at the time. I ordered the ring. The ring was pretty much right next to the whole flight home. She didn't know anything.

That's the best want to do it?

Were you like in your pocket on you?

I gave it to my mate, Corey and having.

His bag fresher on Corey, Yeah, I don't lose my ring there.

And so we got home and I was like, look, we've got to go do this photo shoot and been raining forever to She's like, I've got nothing to wear. I've got none of this. I don't feel pretty, and I'm just like, just put anything on it.

My hand stopped storming.

But we had an appointment and we're driving home. She we're not doing photos today. I'm like, we've got it. You gotta got nothing to wear, and I'm like I was just thinking, how am I going to do this, and so I got Corey in and Corey's like, no, I wear that. That's beautiful. It looks amazing. It looks so good.

Is Coley like a fashionable guy?

Was?

Are you just like just it's just pushed this as like a yes thing?

Yeah, you know, he photo shoots, he gets great.

He's a really good photographer.

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't know if he's dressing the boy.

So we went down the beach and then sure enough sun comes out. I'm like, we've got to go. We've got to go. We've got to go do it and say we're doing the photos.

It's hard to know like to do it now, Wait, how honest were you nervous?

I was nervous. I think it's all men are.

Such a nervous like similar to I actually went to the States to propose and with my now wife and I hit it. The ring on me the whole time I had it tucked into my underpants and one dage she put her arm around me. She never touches me. I don't know this instant she decided to touch me. Missed it by about that and I was honestly just packing nuggets for like days on the lead up. She was like, yeah, you get to that moment the sun's out, Cory's got the camera.

Out, and she said something like it's going to be so fun all of us together. And I was like, well, why don't we make it official? And she's like what And I just pulled it out of my pocket and giving me goosebumps.

Yeah, flashbacks.

It was crazy though, and it was like it was the first beach I had taken her to in Australia and.

Yeah, the sun came out of dolphins, that's already seen.

Do you remember what it was like that very first moment that you got to hold Xander.

Yeah, it was incredible. As you go through the birth, you're hearing noises that you've never heard your partner ever make, and this and that this is this is like it's primal.

It's like it's pretty intense. It's pretty intense.

Yeah, but I found it so beautiful. And then we didn't find out if it was going to be a boy or a girl. We just went for it.

Did you have any preference or we're like I.

Wanted a boy and Bree thought it was a boy the whole time, and I was like, well, if it's not a boy, I've got to really sit down and you know, talk to myself. And I had a week where I was like coaching myself through it, and so I was so pumped either way in the end. And then when he came out and I picked him up, and the obstrics like, I want you check out what it is, and I just like picked him up. I never even used before.

I always I always thought they would say, like they would announce it in the room because maybe it's a new thing now. They kind of because I didn't know either, and they kind of just said, you go check. I always thought they would like call it.

Out like the PA at the hospital.

Girl, Yeah, I guess it's in your birth plan, right, And like that moment where you go skin to skin with you, look, there is no other moment like it until you do it again.

It's not a special as this time. That's not true. That moment is Yeah, like I said, there's nothing else like it. Do you think you'll have another kid? Are you planning on?

Yeah, we have talked about it. We're always plan or not plan, but it's definitely in the pipeline. Would love to but you know when that happens.

When that happens, it happens. Yeah, that was like similar, assid. When my wife decides it's going to happen, it's going to happen.

That's usually.

When we became dads. We always joke about some of the changes that started to happen, Like for me, I all of a sudden really liked lawn grass, became obsessed, started walking with my hands behind my back.

Are you sneezers louder now that you're a dad?

I've always been a loud sneezer?

Any dad tendencies that have started to creep in after Xander arrived.

I wear a man bag now just to make sure that I've got all the gear, Yeah, like a dad bag, Yeah, just because I couldn't carry a big old handbag.

Yeah.

So I just got a couple of that piece And have you had to add a couple of leaders to your surfboards?

Now?

He looks, he looks anything, how dare you suggest? Well, well you did mention you had pancakes for breakfast this morning, getting away with that.

Gluten free dawn. That's the trick is that he definitely changed, like especially being an athlete and I just come out of knee surgery.

I'm stabbing the dark. That's right with Dane. Yeah, So Dane Reynolds is up there for me.

So I was working pretty hard and for me it was more just my selfishness just had to go out of the window. That's probably the big and the biggest thing is like, you know, when I want to get go to sleep in like this morning for instance, got busy days, so it's like, well, you're going to get up on dark and go surfing. Yeah, it doesn't matter what the waves like, you're going.

That's the only time you get to go.

Yeah. Yeah. Otherwise you sort of get you get down.

They pog you down. These kids, you got two of them. Hang the surfboards up, mate. Serious.

One of the hard things though, when you've just come out of childbirth as parents is that it's such a rollercoaster. You had this really intense high where like I remember being in tears holding my daughter for the first time, and then the reality of parenting really creeps in. You know, you've got sleepless nights, You've got this baby that's crying. You have no idea what's wrong with it because you're

No.

No, Like I guess, traveling the world all the time, I was always used to the jetlag. This is a different kind of jetlag because if you sleep an extra minute, then it could be the death of your child, so you've got to get up. But that's how I sort of looked at it. But Breeze just so across everything, and she was just just so well read and so ready to be a mom.

Did you do the parenting classes?

I did, good boy. Yeah we did hypno birthing.

In person or during COVID, she would have been pre.

Through cod Birthing is all about breathing and just you know, talking about the woman's body is made perfectly for the baby.

When you're in the class, what's your role? They go to sleep.

Exactly old serving and always come back and towards the end of the class every time they would do it like a meditation. It's all that's.

I can see Matt picturing as the guy goes and you're back in the room.

Just the heavy breathing coming from the corner where Micase.

Guys he's a world Champion's funny.

It's just Yeah, it's just all about positive reinforcement. Yeah, but was was a warrior through birth. She would be asleep in between contractions. That's about as she was.

Wow.

Yeah, she was like I always thought that I could get in the zone like being.

Did she get the drugs not? Oh my gosh.

She was incredible And we had to, you know, start going, hey, you got to start moving.

Oh my gosh, she just really zened out on that.

She was gone.

It's it's wild, isn't it. Guys have got it so damn good.

Yeah.

But the hardest thing I had to do was I missed out of my.

Have you have you ever zipped a fly up on the old fellow? Mate? We don't have.

So Xander's three now will be three next month.

And how do you find the terrible two's and the toddler versus a newborn newborn?

Like everyone says it's going to get is he? It's such a lie.

The ship thing about being a new dad or a new parent is that they go after three months, there's so much better than it's like, after six months, there's so much better. When does it end? It's always changed before and it's like, oh, sometimes I look at ask and I'm like, oh my god, why why are you making a mess on the fucking floor.

Just gotta let go.

What's he into at the moment.

He loves just cartoons, trucks and just swords. I swear he's like a Nina or a warrior from past life because he just gets a sword or he turns anything into a sword and just wax and.

Keep him away from that knife, draw mane.

He knows not to touch night if he puts Baby Shark on and you're like, turn.

Off, traumatized from the baby Shark.

I'm pretty good. I don't really I don't really get two PHAs on all that sort of stuff, Like my I haven't listened to my music or a podcast or in the car forever because it's either an email or Mickey Mouse.

Ye Wiggles or cocoa melon.

We don't do coco melon. Coca melon is a problem.

Yeah, I agree, But once they get like hooked in, you can't get them up. Look, honestly, we always talk about this on the podcast that YouTube is the best parent at that age because it's just like they just you get so much done when they're.

Do you find that your parenting style is similar to that of your mum or how you were raised.

I think if Bree wasn't around, it would be. But Bree's just so calm and so patient, and she's taught me so much, like, you know, stop crying, there's nothing cried out. Let's go. She would talk through it and this and that. So I'm learning and we're just sort of we're doing like a challenge and you have to read a self help book and I'm reading a parenting book.

What can you teach us to teach?

Just patience?

Both of us can't read unless it's like video phim.

It's more about just listening and be patient. Like that's the most I'm getting out of this is that kids and toddlers don't have any sense of time. They just act on what's in front of them. And as adults and parents, we sort of act and react around time. So it's it's like, all right, we've got to go, We've got to do this, We've got to do that, where they just think, I don't care what you gotta do.

Yeah, working on my time, Yeah.

I want to watch more. I want to keep playing. Yeah.

And we always in our house, we're always like you know, when we talk about oh, you know, one more minute, five more minutes, Oscar. Now he would just be like, has no idea what five minutes means. But if I say get off there about five more minutes, give a shit either. Yeah, they're just in their own in their own world.

One thing that a lot of people say to me with two girls, and they're both pretty wild even at four and two, is that when they're teenagers, it's going to be really tricky for yourself. And I thought, as someone who's got the old ego eugene, what would be the best way to parent a eugene? Like, if my children have their old egos, how should I manage that?

Oh? You just tell them just be careful and learn from your mistakes.

That's sound solid advice. That was like when you got in trouble as a youngster with your mum, how would she react? What sort of mum was she when you were doing the wrong thing?

It depends if if we came and told her that we did the wrong thing.

And would you be honest and tell her.

Yeah, yeah, wow, I hid everything from Yeah.

It was just more of the fact that should look at it and just go, well, was that the right thing to do?

And we're like not very self reflective.

Yeah, but then there would other times if she caught us in the act, then we'll get a slap in the head.

She's got both sides covered.

Yeah. Look, it's one of those things. It's like, you know, I think parenting is sort of almost like if you tell your mate, I don't do that, stop carrying on, Like if they had a couple of beers or whatever, they just don't want to do it more totally. And I feel like that's what kids are like, so you just go with it. Yeah, keep going on the floor.

On the floor.

We put the call out to the listeners for any questions to ask yourself, and I'm not making this up. One of the most common questions was as a parent, have you ever been shut on? Have you had to deal with the poon army from the baby?

Oh? Yeah, yeah. The video just came up the other day because I had to fly away and Breathe was showing the baby videos and his favorite video now is watching himself shot on me.

Was it at home though?

Safe you please?

Yeah? He went all up me. Oh and then he started pissing on me too, just sitting there filming the whole there's nothing.

There's nothing that for that too. You're like, holy shit.

Laterally, yeah, I'm not a germaphobe or anything like that, but when it's all over, you're just like, can I get some help? Yeah, you're just sitting there.

Last take this child off me. It's crazy, Like I feel like everyone's got a shit on story. Like it's just one of those things. It's becomes part of parenting, one thing that you've sort of done to us and to other dads. You set the bar really high with the when your kid grows up and it's like, my dad's stronger than your dad. Your son's always got that. Well, my dad punched a shark, so thank you for that.

I've actually just been talking about that recently just because Jay has been on. But funny story, I walked into daycare one day and he's like, my dad punched shark. And I'm like, he said it, you're already onto it he said it. I'm like, who the hell told him that? Because I hadn't spoken to him about it. And then I was like, did you tell him the story or whatever?

There any daycare teacher. He's not familiar with your story. She'd like, Xander, that's not true. People don't get hit in the head with shark.

It is looking up. That's true. It's funny because I said to my son last night, I left so early this morning. I was like, I'm going away tomorrow. I'm not going to be here, trying to tell him why I'm not going to be here, So I'm going to meet somebody punched a shark his face because he's obsessed with like he's got these toy sharks. He just couldn't believe, like because couldn't quite comprehend it. It's crazy.

It's a lot for a four year old for a four year old, and.

We were with Jbay just finishing up yesterday and I was like, I'll just have a look at the past winners of the comp as you do, and it was obviously goes through the list of winners and it's funny on Wikipedia. I don't know if you've seen it on Wikipedia, it's twenty fifteen where the winner is it says shark.

Yeah.

I was like, well, true, technically it did win. I had to abandon it. But I was just like, and then it's got You've gone back the next year, And obviously I do vividly remember watching it.

You winning.

It was like the whole country was behind you, which is crazy, but yeah, I don't know how many people would have been jeering on that shark that day winning, Jbay are crazy.

Did you see the footage just on Nathan Florence?

Is that the one following, Yeah, that's.

Pretty much what happened in mine. So they'd come up from the bottom of the point and go all the way out, Yeah, and they're just cruising like they're not there to eat, They're just there to they commute.

Because yeah, in twenty sixteen, the same the year after they had to stop the comp that I remember, and they were following a massive great white like it was just exactly a year later. It's like that time of year. It must be very Yeah, I've never been to South Africa. I'm sure it's like that all the time, but how we see it that one time a year and I remember this jet ski following it up vividly, remember how big it was next to this jet ski, and then it's just happened again.

Yeah, that's wild.

It is wild, like it's one of those places, right.

Yeah, I had it happened to me, and I think it was twenty seventeen. I was in a heat with Gabe Medina and I was getting flogged. I saw the skis starting to come towards us, which is said, is that ja And I saw him coming. I'm like, please, please, where's a set? Where's a set? Where's a set? Because I wanted to It was towards the end of the heat. Anyway, you like, get Gabe and I think, just let me catch away and go in so I don't.

Have to be a Brazilian barbecue.

But got us on the I'm just just take me in. I'm getting combat.

He's done like four eras I was just.

Saying I have to do more media and crap.

Yeah, it's last thing I want to do.

Nick.

I know your your time is precious. You've got a busy day, So I just want to say thank you so much for sitting down with Ashing myself. I still don't know how I do it, how you've done this, how he's managed to lock you in, But it's best if I just don't ask questions.

Don't ask questions.

We really appreciate your time connection somehow.

Yeah.

Just on the back of that, Yeah, thank you so much for having us sitting down and chat with us. You know, a career, dad, retirement, all that stuff. Letting me give you my favorite movie of yours and you can ferish forever.

If you're missing any possessions from your house, it definitely wasn't us count your cutlery drawer. No, we appreciate it. And if you've enjoyed this episode, of course, give us a follow review, hey five stars if you want, and let us know if there's any other doting dads or mums that you would like us to interview. And Ash, I reckon, we should probably get out of here, absolutely go for serve.

Thanks again, Mat appreciate it, guys enjoyed.

Thank you Mu,