mickatsharons1
"That's the day he won J-Bay again the year after the shark, and he had won. He had just won. The hat in his hand is my hat, which he stole again. He's up on the table wearing my hat giving a speech, and right after that he jumps down and Kelly walks in the kitchen, and Mick charges across the kitchen full speed and tackles him full speed on the floor full jiu-jitsu wrestling on the beer-soaked floor. That's Mick in a nut shell, and he just goes for it." Photo: Steve Sherman
I met Mick in ’99 when I went over to Queensland for Transworld Surf, and we were doing a whole thing in Australia. I met him and Parko around the same time. We went down to Kirra and shot some photos. From that point on, we became friendly. Mick is just a sweetheart of a person. He’s very approachable. If I send him a text, he’ll text me back right away. He’s pretty unaffected by the notoriety, especially considering he’s one of the top athletes in all of Australia. I just think the world of him. When I heard he was going to retire, I was really emotional, and I sent him a text. He said, “There’s no reason to cry, mate. Not now, at least.”
I think he went off tour for six months, and he just realized it’s fun to go surfing and explore. And just cruise. He finally just slowed down a little bit. He’s been going in fifth gear on this World Tour thing for so many years, I just think he’s going to enjoy life. He’s got Balter, MF soft tops, and he’s in a position to enjoy life. It’s been an absolute honor shooting with him over the last two decades, and I wish him nothing but the best. The images above are a few memorable moments from a hell of a career.
Editor’s Note: View more of Sherm’s iconic work at t-sherms.com. You can even order his prints on tees now. Give ’em a look!