Joel Parkinson was born on the 10th April, 1981, in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. He started surfing early with his father and friends Dean Morrison and Mick Fanning.
"Parko", one of the Coolangatta kids, developed his surfing skills and quicly took the ASP World Junior Championship.
In 1999, Joel Parkinson wins the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, in South Africa, to became the youngest rider winning the African surf contest.
The 1.83-meter regular-footer has conquered the Triple Crown of Surfing in 2008, 2009 and 2010, in which he score two perfect 10's in a heat, at Pipeline.
The man who loves football, fishin and cars is featured in the surf "Free As A Dog", as the main surf star. Parkinson also finished three times as runner-up in the ASP World Tour (2002, 2004 and 2009).
The Gold Coast surfer is married with Monica, his high school sweetheart, and is the loving father of Evie, Macy and Mahli.
Joel Parkinson has secured his first world surfing title at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons.