AJ Hackett

Alan John "AJ" Hackett ONZM (born May 1958 in Pukekohe , New Zealand ) is an entrepreneur who popularized the extreme sport of bungee jumping .

Life

Hackett grew up in North Shore City . He attended Westlake Boys High School, which he left when he was 16. Then he began an apprenticeship as a carpenter. At this time he started snowboarding and skiing.

Bungee jumping

Inspired by the video of the Oxford Dangerous Sports Club and the liana jumpers from Pentecôte , he developed a very resilient elastic rope. In the same year, 1986, he carried out his first test jumps on New Zealand's North Island . In 1987 Hackett illegally jumped off the second level of the Eiffel Tower in Paris .

In 1988 Hackett founded AJ Hackett Bungy and in Queenstown, New Zealand, the world's first commercial place for public bungee jumping. In 1990, the Viaduc de la Souleuvre in Normandy ( France ) and other places for bungee jumping in Cairns ( Australia ) were added, and Hackett jumped out of a helicopter for the first time . During this jump, the rope stretched 380 meters. In 1999, the one millionth customer was counted for bungee jumping. In 2000 Hackett jumped from the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado ( USA ), the highest bridge in the world. In 2004 the highest bungee jumping was opened at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado (USA). Hackett published his autobiography "Jump Start" in 2006. In the same year he led the highest permanent commercial bungee jumping in Macau ( China ) at the Macau Tower one.

literature

Hackett, AJ (Alan John): Jump Start - The Autobiography of Bungy Pioneer AJ Hackett . Random House New Zealand, Auckland 2006, ISBN 1-86941-842-5 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Hackett, AJ
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hackett, Alan; AJ
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	New Zealand entrepreneur and bungee jumper
DATE OF BIRTH	May 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH	Pukekohe , New Zealand