Fanning reveals craziest misadventure on Tour

He's famously punched his way out of a shark attack but Mick Fanning says that's not the craziest moment he's experienced on Tour.

The three-time world champion announced on Wednesday that his days on the professional surfing Tour were over, following a trophy-laden career that started 19 years ago.

April's Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach will be the 36-year-old's last event on the World Surf League tour - bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career.

Sure, Fanning will forever be remembered for the shark attack in 2015 at Jeffreys Bay that was beamed to television sets across the world.

After fighting off a great white shark during the J-Bay Open in South Africa, Fanning's legend was forever set in stone.

But incredibly, it's not the surfing legend's most memorable misadventure on Tour.

"Probably one of the funnier ones was when we accidentally burnt down a hotel in Brazil," Fanning admitted.

"It was a blackout and Dean Morrison and myself were staying in the same room together and there was about 1200 candles throughout the hotel."

"We actually left a candle on top of the TV and it blacked out the whole room. A few of the boys who we were on Tour with thought we were in there asleep. Mick Lowe kicked down the door.

"It was not our finest moment. But it was pretty funny once the dust, or the ashes, had settled.

"We had to surf on black boards pretty much for the whole event."

You'd be forgiven for thinking Fanning's fondest moment as a surfer came during one of his three world titles or perhaps his maiden Championship Tour (CT) win at Bells Beach as a wildcard in 2002.

But for the down-to-earth Aussie - who's one of the most respected competitors in his sport - it was much more low-key than that.

"Probably one that not that many know about was when I came out of the water after having a quarter-final against Kelly Slater in 2015 and all my friends had snuck into my tent, they'd all flown in from Oz, all my best friends from home. I just walked up the beach and saw everyone and it just felt like I'd won every world title. It just felt like I'd won in life."

The Coolangatta local credits two of his long-standing surfing mates for inspiring him to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

"Parko (Joel Parkinson), Dean Morrison, you know those guys growing up they used to kick my butt the whole time and they were the guys I was just striving to beat.

'It just kept going on and on, we kept leapfrogging each other and we ended up on the World Tour together, in the top 10 together at one stage, which was super exciting.

"Those are probably the guys that started that push, that desire and determination (for me)."

Having lost two brothers, Fanning has had to deal with more tragedy than most of his peers at such a young age.

The death of Fanning's brother Peter in 2015 came on the eve of the title showdown with Brazil's Adriano De Souza at Pipeline, that the Aussie would unfortunately end up losing.

"For me I just knew I had so much support, from the moment I found out (about brother Peter's death), everyone from my mum to my boss at Rip Curl to my good friend Taylor Knox were right there with me the whole time.

"All my friends flew in (to Hawaii) and without that support I'd be nowhere. That's how you get through those times, just with good people and understanding people.

While family is immensely important to Fanning, he remains coy on plans to expand his own.

But if a child were to grace the 36-year-old's life, he'd have no hesitation giving them his blessing to surf the treacherous waters of J-Bay.

"I'd paddle out there with him, pretty simple answer," Fanning said matter-of-factly.

"J-Bay is one of the most incredible waves on earth. I wouldn't tell people not to go and surf it. You've just got to be careful.

"Every time you go out into the ocean you've got to be careful, it doesn't matter where you are."

Only 1980s star Mark Richards has been crowned world's best male surfer more often than Fanning, whose career included titles in 2007, 2009 and 2013 titles and six top-three finishes.

But he has failed to find the drive to win another crown since enduring that tumultuous year in 2015.

"I feel like I've just lost the drive to compete day-in day-out now," Fanning said.

"It's been something I've been doing for 17 years, and even before that through QS and Juniors, and I feel that I just can't give it 100 percent anymore.

"I'm just not enjoying it as much as I was in the past. I still love surfing, and I'm still super excited by it, but I feel that there's other paths for me to take at this stage in my life.

The 36-year-old also has a beer company to his name, a book and a board-making company as part of his many business ventures.

He says he's looking forward to exploring new surfing destinations and experiences but in terms of exactly what that entails, Fanning is happy to keep fans guessing for now.