A.J. Hackett
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Allan John "A. J." Hackett (born May 1958) is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the
extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
of
bungy jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...
. He made a bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987 and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988. He is also the father of freestyle skier, Margaux Hackett.


Early life

Hackett was born in
Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...
, and grew up on
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
's North Shore. He attended
Westlake Boys High School Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and We ...
between 1972 and 1974, where he played
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
. He left school at the age of sixteen to serve an apprenticeship as a carpenter-joiner. During this time he took up snowboarding and skiing. He moved to Perth where he sold encyclopaedias for four months, later returning to New Zealand to set up a construction business.


Bungy jumping

Inspired by the
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
ritual called
land diving Land diving (known in the local Sa language as and in Bislama as ) is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. Men jump off wooden towers around high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Lan ...
and the
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
Dangerous Sports Club The Dangerous Sports Club, a group of adventurers and extreme sports pioneers based in Oxford and London, England, were active from the late 1970s for about ten years, during which they developed modern bungee jumping and experimented with a var ...
experimental jumps in the 1970s, Hackett and fellow adventurer Chris Sigglekow, sought ways to make bungy jumping safe. Using a mathematical formula developed by New Zealand's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, he created a super-stretchy elastic bungy cord in the mid-1980s. In November 1986, Hackett, along with Sigglekow, performed his first amateur bungy jump from the
Upper Harbour Bridge The Upper Harbour Bridge (also called the Greenhithe Bridge) is a motorway bridge in west Auckland, New Zealand. It is technically two bridges, spanning an upper reach of the Waitematā Harbour, and connecting Hobsonville (in West Auckland) a ...
(Greenhithe Bridge) in Auckland, citing it as "one of the most riveting experiences of my life." Following this Hackett made jumps from a bridge in Hamilton, the
Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...
and other bridges in the North Island. These first jumps were made using a parachute harness; however, Hackett created a method where the harness was tied to the ankle and demonstrated its use by jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge a second time. Hackett travelled to Paris in 1986 as part of the New Zealand Speed Skiing Team. While there he jumped off the Pont de la Caille and a cable car at the
Tignes ski resort Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good tr ...
. He made what became a famous bungy jump off the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...
in Paris on 26 June 1987, receiving a brief jail sentence for the illegal feat and generating international attention to the sport. Back in New Zealand, Hackett launched his own company, AJ Hackett Bungy, and created a site on the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge in Queenstown in 1988 to become the world's first commercial public bungy. He later expanded his company by founding bungy sites in Australia, France ( Souleuvre Viaduct in Normandy), Russia ( Sochi), Germany, the United States, Mexico, Indonesia, and Macau. He is credited with launching New Zealand's adventure tourism industry and helping to develop a safe code of operation for bungy jumping in use internationally. Hackett initially partnered with Henry van Asch, but the two split in 1997 with van Asch taking over the New Zealand-based business. In 2006 Hackett published his autobiography, ''Jump Start'', which chronicles his bungy jumping adventures.


Records and accomplishments

Hackett is widely known for his many bungy stunts that have earned him
Guinness record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
s and personal milestones, including: * 1988: Jumping off the Auckland Stock Exchange Tower, claiming the title as being the world's first bungy off a building * 1990: Jumping out of a helicopter for the first time * 2000: Jumping off the Royal Gorge Bridge, also known as the highest suspension bridge in the world * 2006: Opening and jumping out of the
Macau Tower The Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center (; pt, Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau), also known as Macau Tower (; pt, Torre de Macau) , is a tower located in Sé, Macau. The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft ...
in Macao measuring above ground and holding the title as the highest commercial bungy * 2007: Doubling the previous record of out of a helicopter with 1,499.6 metres in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
with his new bungy technology allowing bungy stretches of over 1 kilometre On 6 November 2007, Hackett was honoured by New Zealand television show '' This Is Your Life''. His company, AJ Hackett Bungy, was recognised by Westpac Queenstown Chamber of Commerce with a Business Excellence Award in the large business category. In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hackett was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to adventure tourism.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, A. J. New Zealand businesspeople Living people 1958 births Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Westlake Boys High School Bungee jumpers People from Pukekohe