A. J. Hackett
| Alan John Hackett | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1958 |
| Residence | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Commercialisation of bungy jumping |
Alan John "A. J." Hackett (born May 1958) is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungy jumping. He made the famous bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987 and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988.
Hackett was born in Pukekohe, growing up on Auckland's North Shore. He attended Westlake Boys High School between 1972 and 1974, where he played rugby. 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.
Inspired by the Vanuatu ritual called land diving and the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club experimental jumps in the 1970s, Hackett and fellow adventurer Chris Sigglekow, sought ways to make bungy jump 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 (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 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 147 metres (482 ft) Pont de la Caille and a cable car at the Tignes ski resort in Paris. He made what became a famous bungy jump off the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 26 June 1987, getting briefly jailed for that illegal feat and generating international attention to the sport.
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