Joel Parkinson Renews Billabong Contract

Can you believe that Joel Parkinson was picked up by Billabong in 1992, when he was 11 years old? And in 2014, despite Stab‘s poorly-informed suggestions that he may’ve been flirting with O’Neill, Mr Parkinson just re-signed with Billabong for another long-term deal. Joel’s part of Billabong’s Icons program, whereby he has minimal stickers on his board to create a more iconic look. This means his only other sponsors are Von Zipper and Da Kine (both Billabong-owned), and JS boards. After finally bagging the big cup in 2012 that’d eluded him for so long, Joel’s 2013 wasn’t quite as loud as the previous year, but finishing third in the world is really special. Billabong’s ridden shotgun with Joel through two junior world titles, a world tour event win at J-Bay as a 19-year-old wildcard, 11 more world tour event wins to follow, and then the world title in 2012. Joel’s obligatory “I’m over the moon to know I will continue to be partnered with Billabong for many years to come,” is actually genuine! “I’ve felt like I’ve been a part of a great big surfing family since I was a scrawny 11-year-old grom. When I got my first Billabong team sticker on my board it was one of the biggest moments of my life at the time, and I am happy and proud to still be flying that flag all these years later. It’s been a really good partnership for a long, long time, it’s helped me get to places I could never have dreamed, and I am seeing a lot of good things still to come in the future.”