SURFBOARD OF THE YEAR – JS Golden Child
Our latest high performance shortboard, now officially Australia’s favourite. Parko's Golden Child wins another trophy.
We’re honoured to see the Golden Child win the 2025 Australian Surf Industry award for Surfboard of the Year. The ASIs are Australia’s premier platform for honouring excellence in our industry, voted on by core retailers, analysts and icons of the sport.
When we brought back Parko’s Golden Child last year, we knew it would become a favourite amongst the team and fill an essential high performance role in the quivers of surfers around the world. But the response was overwhelming. Far from a niche, limited edition release, demand snowballed as word of mouth quickly spread about “that board with the gold logo” prompting anyone who rides it to do their best surfing.
Parko and his original Golden Child.
Joel was honoured that so many of the Traktor Team soon had a Golden Child amongst their favourites, and we saw the board's winning DNA shine through in some incredible performances & feedback. Just over 15 years since Parko first rode the original Golden Child to win CT events at Kirra, Bells and JBay, he recommended JS make one similar for Kanoa that landed him on the podium at Bells. Jordy Smith would then go on to win the Margaret River Pro riding an updated Golden Child, based on the exact board he rode throughout Modern Collective and eventually took home his first JBay championship in 2010.
Our team has ridden them in all sizes, from Sierra Kerr leading the pack for our next generation, to Mikey and Jai Glindo going with more refined, longer versions as their new standard shortboards from 6'1" to 6'3", to Joel, Louie and Jordy's dimensions being the basis for our EasyRider range.
Haven't heard of the model? Check this clip below.
