Julian InterviewMick Fanning wasn’t alone in the water – Julian Wilson comments on the #JBayOpen shark encounter
Posted by World Surf League on Sunday, July 19, 2015
“One of the comments that Mick made was, rather than paddle toward the beach, you started paddling toward Mick.”
By now you’ve seen the startling and heroic footage of Mick Fanning battling a Great White shark during the WSL finals, where Fanning was battling his buddy Julian (Jules) Wilson for first place.
The shark got stuck in Mick’s leash (the cord that attaches the board to your ankle), and fortunately didn’t get any teeth on Mick. But for a few seconds, those watching live (including my husband) believed that Mick was a goner.
So did Julian Wilson, whose first instinct wasn’t to swim to shore or toward one of the boats or skis, but to his friend (and consequently, the shark).
This is one of the beautiful things about men’s sports. Sometimes we are allowed to peek into the deep relationships men make with one another, and see how much they truly care for one another.
In this interview, we see the handsome young man break down. He doesn’t seem weak, as stereotypes about masculinity might have you believe about men crying. He seems like a good friend. What a great model of masculinity both Jules and Mick seem to be.
Watch some of the startling footage of the shark attack here