---
title: Mick Fanning Donates Major Sum to a Fellow Surfer Mauled by a Shark
description: The surfer who fought a shark on live TV has donated almost $55,000 ($75,000 in Australian money) to a fellow surfer undergoing surgery.
canonical: https://time.com/3981694/mick-fanning-matthew-lee-donation-shark-surfing/
author: Rishi Iyengar
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-08-03T06:53:58.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:12.436Z
article:section: Sports
og:title: Mick Fanning Donates Major Sum to Shark Attack Victim
og:description: The Aussie surf champ is giving $55,000 to a fellow surfer who got mauled
og:url: https://time.com/3981694/mick-fanning-matthew-lee-donation-shark-surfing/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c3f47d58daff447/69885d85428a9e1020cce743/gettyimages-481455918.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: Mick Fanning Arrives In Australia After Shark Attack
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Mick Fanning Donates Major Sum to Shark Attack Victim
twitter:description: The Aussie surf champ is giving $55,000 to a fellow surfer who got mauled
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c3f47d58daff447/69885d85428a9e1020cce743/gettyimages-481455918.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
---
# The Surfer Who Fought a Shark on TV Donates Huge Sum to Fellow Surfer Who Got Mauled
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by
[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)
## Rishi Iyengar
Aug 3, 2015 6:53 AM UTC
Australian surfer Mick Fanning waits to speak to the media during a press conference at All Sorts Sports Factory on July 21, 2015 in Sydney, Australia.
Australian surfer Mick Fanning waits to speak to the media during a press conference at All Sorts Sports Factory on July 21, 2015 in Sydney, Australia.Mark Kolbe—Getty Images
by
[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)
## Rishi Iyengar
Aug 3, 2015 6:53 AM UTC
Australian surfing champ Mick Fanning knows how fortunate he is to have escaped a shark attack unscathed, which is why he [donated just under $55,000](http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/03/mick-fanning-donates-75000-tv-fee-to-surfer-injured-in-nsw-shark-attack) (or $75,000 in Australian currency) to a fellow surfer who wasn’t as lucky.
The sum is the entire television appearance fee Fanning earned from his recent interview with Australia’s Channel Nine show _60 Minutes_, and he is giving it to Matthew Lee, the _Guardian_ reports. Lee, 32, had to undergo surgery on both legs after being mauled by a great white shark in waters near the Australian town of Ballina last month.
Three-time world champion Fanning knows that risk better than most after narrowly escaping not one, but two shark attacks recently. The 34-year-old had to [punch away a shark](http://time.com/3963763/surfing-shark-attack/) that attacked him during a televised competition in South Africa, and was then forced to [scramble to safety](http://time.com/3979772/surfer-mick-fanning-shark/) after spotting another of the oceanic predators in his New South Wales hometown while shooting the _60 Minutes_ segment the following week — his first time back in the water after the first attack.
Lee’s family thanked Fanning and Channel Nine chief executive David Gyngell — who pledged a further $25,000 for the injured surfer’s treatment — in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Mick Fanning and David Gyngell,” the statement read. “No words can describe how grateful we are for the generous donation.”
\[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/03/mick-fanning-donates-75000-tv-fee-to-surfer-injured-in-nsw-shark-attack)\]
### Three Shark Photographers You Need to Follow
The water column is a three-dimensional habitat for sharks. Instead of traveling horizontally across the ocean, many species, like blacktip sharks, bounce up and down, repeatedly descending and ascending through the water column, in hopes of picking up any signs of prey. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa. Thomas P. Peschak
A Red Sea Silky Shark. To survive in the vastness of the open ocean, Silky sharks rely on their boldness and curiosity to investigate every opportunity that might yield a meal. Sharks make up for their lack of hands to investigate things, with thousands of tiny pores, called the Ampullae of Lorenzini, which line the shark’s snout. Northern Red Sea. Thomas P. Peschak
The whale shark is the world’s largest fish, born with unique spotted skin patterns, which don’t change significantly as the animal ages. Scientists are using the latest in space technology developed by NASA, for fingerprinting and identifying whale sharks based on their spots. In this image scientists from the conservation NGO Manta Trust are measuring a sub-adult whale shark in Baa Atoll, Maldives. Thomas P. Peschak
Bronze Whaler sharks are the most abundant sharks during the sardine run off South Africa’s east coast every June/July. Hundreds of them patrol the margins of baitballs and charge into the seething mass of fish singly or in small groups to feed. Thomas P. Peschak
Shark fins are the key ingredient of shark fin a soup, a dish frequenlty consumed at weddings and banquets in China. It is primarily served to demonstrate wealth and honor guests. Thomas P. Peschak
Head and gills of Juvenile Scalloped Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna Lewini), Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii - Pacific Ocean. Jeff Rotman
Close-up of Spiny Dogfish Shark (Squalus acanthias) born prematurely with egg sac attached. New England, North Atlantic Jeff Rotman
Gills of a Lemon Shark at night. Jeff Rotman
Eye of Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus), Cocos Island, Costa Rica - Pacific Ocean. Jeff Rotman
Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi). Bahamas, Caribbean Sea. Jeff Rotman
An image of Mike Coots taken by his friend Juan Oliphant as they are swimming surrounded by sharks. ©JuanOliphant/@Juansharks
![Mike Coots “hangs out” with a great white. As he is frequently asked if he is afraid to go back to the water after the attack, Coots has no doubt: “I am positive I was attacked as mistaken identity and the last couple of days \[swimming with the sharks\] really reiterated the point. Humans are not sharks' prey.”](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45be518944f193a1/6988556755a85964a2a8c966/10693681_566496753497226_1727569935_n.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp)
Mike Coots “hangs out” with a great white. As he is frequently asked if he is afraid to go back to the water after the attack, Coots has no doubt: “I am positive I was attacked as mistaken identity and the last couple of days \[swimming with the sharks\] really reiterated the point. Humans are not sharks' prey.” Mike Coots
While babysitting his 6-year-old nephew, the little boy showed the toys to Coots. "It's you uncle Mike," he said. Mike Coots
Coots has been able to return to surf after the shark attack, wearing a prosthesis for his right leg. Coots was just a teenager when a tiger shark attacked him in the deep water of Kauai, an area known to be populated by sharks. Mike Coots
Coots took this photograph with Hero3, a waterproof camera. He observed the white shark being hesitant before eating its meal. “Incredibly beautiful to watch and I never felt threatened once. Completely serene,” Coots wrote on his Instagram feed. Mike Coots
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