Clark Kirby remembers the first rollercoaster he ever rode and he's never lost touch with that sense of excitement.
It was the Scenic Railway at Melbourne's Luna Park and, while thrilling at the time, it belongs to a different era than the amazing rides of today that he's still very much involved with.
One example is the $30 million DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, which twists, turns and plunges at speeds of up to 115 kilometres per hour, exerting forces up to 4.3G on its thrillseeking passengers.
HyperCoaster, with its flame-haired Joker emblem and Batman-themed trains, launched in September 2017, a few months after Clark Kirby took over as chief executive of the Village Roadshow Theme Parks group, with responsibility for Movie World, Sea World and Wet'n'Wild.
Collectively, Village Roadshow's theme parks attract five million visitors annually, and that is a lot of people to please
But entertainment for families is the Kirby family's business.
Village Roadshow was started by Clark's grandfather in 1954 and Clark's first foray into the industry was cleaning the pinball machines at the family cinema in the Victorian town of Sorrento. He's now chief executive and executive chairman of Village Roadshow Theme Parks.
Yet for all the experience Clark brings to his leadership role, he has never lost touch with the exhilaration he felt at Luna Park as a boy.
He believes the success of the theme parks is felt beyond their borders, extending deeply into the community and economy.
"That old cinema in Sorrento was a real meeting place when I was a kid. People came together there for more than just the movies. I loved that family focus," he says.
"When Warner Bros. Movie World opened in 1991 on the Gold Coast, that atmosphere amplified a thousand times. Today, and particularly as we look to the future, that same family focus and responsibility remain paramount, for me personally and for Village Roadshow."
While theme parks are entrenched on the Gold Coast, Clark is ever conscious of the need for ongoing innovation.
To that end, in the past five years Village Roadshow has spent around $200 million on its operations on the Gold Coast and the HyperCoaster, the latest spectacular example is ranked as the longest, fastest and tallest in the Southern Hemisphere.
"We are one of the largest employers on the Gold Coast, we are identified as being integral to the Gold Coast experience, and we are striving to ensure the Gold Coast's status as a family destination," says Clark.
"Family is the essence here. I meet people all the time who tell me how they worked a summer at Movie World or Wet 'n' Wild and now they run major businesses. They went to the theme parks with their parents and now they are parents bringing their kids.
"That's something special, something unique to this city. These are connections that we can be very proud of."
Village Roadshow's commitment to the Gold Coast will continue with developments across all its theme parks. Most immediately at Sea World with the launch of a new seal presentation and an interactive Splash Zone accessible for people with a disability.
Clark is also excited about the upcoming Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, seeing the event as not only a sporting and cultural spectacle but also an opportunity to show all that the Gold Coast has to offer and a catalyst in a new phase of development for the region.
AAP, in collaboration with the City of Gold Coast and Gold Coast Tourism, is publishing a range of newsworthy content in the lead-up to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Australian Associated Press
