JOEL “PARKO”
PARKINSON

Joel “Parko” Parkinson was a 17-year veteran of the Championship Tour and regarded as one of the most naturally gifted and stylish surfers to grace the sport. He’d won 12 world tour events at iconic waves like Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Jeffreys Bay, Bells Beach and California, in Bali and at his home break of Snapper Rocks. He’s surfed perfect heats at Pipeline and J-Bay and Keramas. He’s made the ASP/WSL Top 5 on nine occasions. He won the Hawaiian Triple Crown three times in a row and has been featured in dozens of surf movies. Parkinson’s remarkable career includes four runner-up finishes to the World Title (2002, ’04, ’09, ’11). In 2012 he finally nabbed the title he so deserved. In 2018, Parkinson graciously made his retirement announcement at Jeffreys Bay to commemorate his 1999 wildcard appearance at the peeling right-hander. Ultimately, Parko decided to put his competitive surfing career to rest at Pipeline. It goes without saying that Joel Parkinson's career will be cemented into surfing's history as one of the greatest of all time.

This board is in the permanent SHACC collection, donated by Mark “Buggs” Arico/surfboardline.com.
Portrait photo © Billabong