He came through the youth academy at hometown club Barnsley signing professional terms in 1998 but would only feature in 10 league games.

Parkin played extensively in all Football League divisions, and (excluding loan spells) made more than 50 league appearances for each of four clubs: York City, Macclesfield Town, Preston North End and Fleetwood Town, plus over 50 non-League appearances for Forest Green Rovers.

[citation needed] Parkin scored 15 goals in 87 appearances for York, despite sometimes playing in a central defensive role.

[citation needed] After nearly two years with the club, he moved to Macclesfield Town in February 2004, after York told him they would not be able to offer him the same pay deal for the 2004–05 season.

[citation needed] In the opening month of 2006–07, he was the only Hull City player to score in the league, with three goals in their first five matches.

[15] He joined Preston North End on an emergency loan on 30 August 2008, which would be turned into a permanent three-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 1 September.

[17] His first goal came after heading in a Ross Wallace cross against Doncaster Rovers in the 82nd minute on 9 December, which sealed a 1–0 victory.

[citation needed] On 28 September, Parkin scored his second hat-trick for the club, and his first at Championship level, in a 6–4 win at Leeds United.

[citation needed] On 1 January 2011, Parkin signed for Championship club Cardiff City on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

[31][32] Instead, Parkin joined League One club Huddersfield Town on loan,[33] making his debut on 28 November against Charlton Athletic.

[34] He returned to Cardiff on 23 January 2012 after making three appearances for Huddersfield and eight days later he joined Scunthorpe United, again on loan.

[49] Parkin scored his first hat-trick for Forest Green in an FA Trophy first round replay win against Didcot Town on 16 December 2014.

[61] On 6 July 2016, it was announced that Parkin and Forest Green had come to an agreement to terminate his contract by mutual consent.

[70] He started up front alongside fellow debutant Rhys Murphy, and Dave Flett of The Press commented that the pair "played with an intelligence, hunger and confidence so rarely seen from their attacking predecessors in City shirts for several years".

[71] Parkin scored the first goal of his second spell with York in the following match, a 3–1 home win over Worcester City in the FA Trophy first round on 10 December 2016, with a 10-yard shot in the 14th minute.

[74] On 21 May 2017, Parkin started as York beat Macclesfield Town 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in the 2017 FA Trophy Final, scoring on eight minutes with a glancing header from Danny Holmes' cross.

[5] He is renowned for his large stature (quadruple XL size shirt) and an unusual unathletic lifestyle which includes never going to the gym and not having a diet, eating large portions instead (for example: for lunch; tuna crunch sandwich, a bag of crisps, a pepperoni pizza, a steak bake and either a bacon and cheese turnover or a sausage bean and cheese melt; having a full English breakfast before training).

Sedgwick became excited that a big transfer move was imminent, before calling his "agent" back and hearing Parkin's mobile phone ringing on the other side of the room.

[5] In another caper, while on pre-season training for Stoke City, Parkin drove a golf buggy as fast as possible down a hill before losing control.

Parkin bailed before impact but teammate Steve Simonsen remained in the buggy as it crashed heavily, rolling over twice.