Standing out from Parko’s favourite boards of all time, the original Golden Child became Joel’s new number one after the original Forget Me Not got creased at pumping Kirra in the 2009 Quiksilver Pro semi-finals. His first heat on Golden Child was the final, and after winning that contest, Joel continued on to become champion at both Bells and JBay too.

Whenever conditions suited that year the Golden Child came out, the result was always the same. Joel never lost a heat. It eventually went straight up on the wall at our Kirra factory as a trophy representing the pinnacle of fast, intuitive and powerful surfing. Golden Child is based on the original file from 2009, but with cutting edge influence from 2024 on the deck roll and rails. It’s ridden approximately 1-2 inches longer than your regular everyday shortboard, and either the same width or 1/8” narrower.

Overall, it has a flatter vee deck compared to the dome deck of our more modern good wave boards like the Schooner or FMN3. This brings you closer to the water for sensitivity, providing instant response. Golden Child also has less concave than the Monsta for extra hold, which is complemented by a narrower nose & tail outline for control in critical sections. All of these features come together to complete a model designed for rail surfing, to cut through the water like a hot knife through butter.