SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE

Whether you’ve had a tan since you could toddle into the surf or got the urge to buy a luxury car as soon as you landed on our golden shores, there’s something about this strip that makes us all glitter

From beaches to booty, we’ve got it and we’re not afraid to flaunt it on the Gold Coast. We know the sun shines out of our, well, everything and that’s cause to celebrate.

Those who grew up here were taking selfies before they were a thing, cramming in as much party and paradise into the background as possible.

Newcomers find themselves anxious to achieve peak GC immediately, reaching for the tanning lotion to fake it until they can make it.

Smiles get brighter, whether from dental enhancement or pure joy at their new location.

And who’s judging whether our chests swell with pride or cosmetic assistance?

At first sight you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s a secret facility, deep within the hinterland perhaps, where gorgeous Meter Maids are mass produced.

They’ve all got that winning smile, fabulous tan and flowing blonde locks.

But as anyone who has paid the $5 fee for a photo with these beauties will know, most of them are foreignborn lasses in search of a seachange.

Not that being born overseas stops us from embracing you as one of the gang – according to the last Census, 28 per cent of us originally came from another country.

So were the Meter Maids recruited because they appear GC or did the Gold Coast look come as a result of their stint on the Glitter Strip?

It’s the latter according to Germany’s Jenny Blankenstein, 19, who after notching up 17 months of service is currently the most experienced Meter Maid in the squad.

“I learnt about the Meter Maids on a television show in Germany and that’s when I saw the beautiful beach,” Jenny says.

“I never had a tan in Germany – not even in summer. But here whenever I have five minutes I’m at the beach. Even in winter it’s so beautiful.

“I always was a blondie in Germany, but here it’s lighter. It must be the sun.

“Everything is just brighter on the Gold Coast. You hair, your smile, your tan.”

Fellow Meter Maid Martina Medus, 23, left a high-powered job as personal assistant to the Minister of Industry in her home of Argentina to embrace the Gold Coast lifestyle.

Since ditching her corporate wardrobe for a bikini, Martina hasn’t looked back.

“I was working 14 hours a day. It was too much responsibility and stress for someone my age,” Martina says.

“This is the perfect place for me. I don’t think I want to go home anymore.”

With a tan darker than the gnarliest of surfers and a pout seductive enough to stop the “G” in its tracks, social media star Kurt Coleman is the Gold Coast stereotype come to life.

His Instagram @kurtcoleman has 159,000 followers and his Facebook a further 31,000 who hang on to his every selfie.

Although he recently relocated to Sydney, Kurt, 20, remains true to his roots, estimating he achieved peak GC in his late teens.

“I think (it was) when I was 17 and was crossing the Gold Coast Highway after a spray tan from Pac Fair,” Kurt says.

“Flicking my falling-out bleachedblonde hair, I was so dark that people were beeping and yelling out at me.

“It always gets hectic like that when you’re a true Gold Coaster.”

While some may criticise his show pony antics, the Instagram darling has always been big on empowering others.

“FLICKING MY BLEACHED-BLONDE HAIR, I WAS SO DARK THAT PEOPLE WERE BEEPING AT ME. IT GETS HECTIC LIKE THAT WHEN YOU’RE A TRUE GOLD COASTER.”