Our Story

One of the great successes of our company’s around the world is the fact we have one hell of a legacy and story to tell. You may have seen or heard about how Bungy Jumping started or story’s on AJ the man through the media, you may have even been lucky enough to visit or ultimately try our experiences, if so you will know why we and millions of other people form all walks of life have a strange affiliation with what we do! If not then do yourself a favor and read on!

AJ Hackett The Global Company - Our Great Story

How one man from New Zealand took bungy jumping to the world!

From Humble Beginnings

AJ Hackett originally hails from New Zealand. Born in Pukekohe in 1958, AJ currently resides 6 months of the year in France and 6 months of the year in Gilly Trawangan – Indonesia.

AJ’s interest in Bungy Jumping and outdoor adventures was first captured when he came across a video of the “Oxford Dangerous Sports Club” jumping from bridges with rubber cords attached to their legs. After a little research he discovered that the idea had originally been copied from an ancient tribal ritual.

The ritual itself comes from a small village on the South Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. For centuries the villages have been jumping from towers made from trees with vines tied to their ankles. During the months of May and June, males of the tribe jump, trying to touch the ground with their heads to fertilise the soil, ensuring a good yam harvest and their passage into manhood. AJ has visited the village and been a spectator to this amazing ritual. AJ has also contributed financially to this village helping them buy land and bringing members of the tribe to Australia to view and try this modern day version called Bungy Jumping.

Check out the footage

AJ spent a great deal of time in 1986, developing and experimenting with the first purpose built “Bungy Cord”. Engineers at Auckland University in New Zealand aided in the process, by putting the rubber through extensive stress and loading tests. Later that same year, he began doing test jumps off a number of bridges in the North Island, including the Auckland Harbor Bridge.

Check out the footage

Eventually, AJ and friends left New Zealand to try their hand at bungy jumping in France. He jumped at a site called the Pont de la caille, a bridge spanning a 147m gorge, and later from a ski gondola in Tignes. At an altitude of nearly 3700m, AJ leapt from a height of 91 meters and touched down perfectly in the deep snow.

For AJ though, the ultimate goal was to jump from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Being able to pull this jump off would bring him and the sport of Bungy Jumping worldwide recognition and possibly a criminal record! In June 1987, AJ Hackett gained global notoriety and introduced Bungy Jumping to the world when he illegally jumped 110m from the Eiffel Tower and landed in the history books and homes of millions of people around the world. This jump made him one of New Zealand’s most famous exports. The underground planning for this jump took 3 months and included decoy woman, synchronized watches, a light minded crew and plenty of Champaign. This story is a movie within itself and is elaborated on in much more detail in AJ’s book JUMP START

Now 20 years on and an international company, AJ continues to run and manage all aspects of the business and can be seen on all of our sites many times a year or at the airport getting to and from each country! AJ fly’s around the world approximately 6 times a year. As a global company we now operate many non bungy related adventure experience and challenge people and gravity 24/7. All our crew have a great deal of passion for what we do and many have been working for the company since its conception 20 years ago – Our roots run deep!

We currently operate in Australia, Indonesia, China, France and Germany… with many more sites due to open very soon – stay tuned!