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ViVe la Bungee!
Twenty-five years ago, Kiwi bungee pioneer AJ Hackett jumped from the Eiffel Tower, in a stunt that changed his life
Words: Robert Tighe Photography: Peter Garmusch

n Kiwi a fait le yo-yo du haut de la Tour Eiffel read the headline in the France Soir newspaper. the date was June 26, 1987, and the Kiwi in question was an Auckland builder named AJ Hackett. the yo-yo was a bungee jump from the eiffel tower that made headlines around the world. twenty-five years on from that famous if slightly insane jump The Red Bulletin talked to the people who made it happen. aj hackett: We did our first bungee jump in November 1986, off Greenhithe Bridge in Auckland. A friend of mine, Chris Sigglekow, had heard about the Oxford University dangerous Sports Club. they jumped off a bridge in the late 1970s with some rubber tied to their feet. in 1980 Chris decided to have a go, but it didnt work particularly well. Six years later he asked me to help him figure it out. i was right into rock climbing and its very similar. You use the same knots and safety systems. henry van asch (co-founder of AJ Hackett Bungy): After that first jump, AJ rang me and said: Youve got to try this bungee thing. Youre going to love it. aj: We figured out the formula for the bungee cord and the great thing was that it worked. it did what it was supposed to do and we bounced back up. it was a pleasant surprise. henry: AJ and i were due to fly to France in February 1987, as part of the New Zealand speed-skiing team. AJ was supposed to meet us at the airport but hed been arrested for jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Of course, he managed to talk himself out of it. its one of the things hes pretty good at. aj: When we arrived in France, we picked up a rental car and drove past the eiffel tower in Paris. i thought it was beautiful and i knew i wanted to jump from it.

i thought he was a bit mad. it was like Mission Impossible

cArolinE MAry, AJs ex-wife

Might as well jump: AJ Hackett spent the night on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, before jumping. He was then lowered to the ground to be met by Sophie Jeandel, who helped organise the jump, and the police, who had noticed the crowds and were waiting to arrest him

Bungee business: What started as an adrenalin-fuelled hobby has become a whole way of life for entrepreneur AJ Hackett

AdditiONAL PHOtOGrAPHY: AJ HACKett(4)

Credit:

The plan seemed delusional and i tried to dissuade him. it seemed ridiculous and impossible to accomplish
kAl Sory Tour, AJs friend and jumpmaster

henry: We told our French friends about the bungee jumping wed been doing in New Zealand. they told us about this bridge we could jump from, the Pont de la Caille. it was 40 minutes from where we were staying in La Clusaz. kal sory tour (AJs friend and jumpmaster): i was filming the skiing at La Clusaz when i met AJ. He introduced me to bungee jumping at the Pont de la Caille. i found it a bit odd and the Kiwis rather eccentric. caroline mary (AJs ex-wife): Kal was a friend of mine and he introduced me to AJ. i think he already had the idea to jump from the eiffel tower when i met him. henry: i always say AJ jumped off the eiffel tower to impress Caroline but he insists he always wanted to do it. aj: When i left Auckland i had this vision of jumping off a cable car in the mountains and skiing off. that was my romantic bungee vision, but jumping from the eiffel tower seemed like such a cool thing to do. kal: to me the plan seemed delusional and i tried to dissuade him. it seemed ridiculous and impossible to accomplish. aj: We just saw it as a fun thing to do. We were confident we knew enough about bungee at that stage and the rope wouldnt break. caroline: i thought he was a bit mad, but i was 22 years old, we had just met, we fell in love and it was all very exciting. it was like Mission Impossible. aj: i knew it would be impossible for a Kiwi to get permission to jump from it, so the only way to do it was without permission. i loved feeling like a bank robber figuring out how to get past the security. i spent a full month scouting the tower. On my first visit i wanted to see if it was physically possible, ignoring all the issues regarding security and access. i found a spot i thought would be a good place to jump from, on the second floor down through the centre of the tower. the challenge of the jump, apart from not getting caught, was making sure i didnt crash into the structure
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on the rebound. the next challenge was to measure it. id got measurements off various drawings, but i learned a long time ago never to rely on other peoples measurements, especially when its your life on the line. kal: AJ went up to the second floor and i stayed on the ground. When he got there, he threw down a small stone attached to a nylon fishing line, i caught it and we left. it was so quick that it all seemed very approximate to me, but AJ knew what he was doing. aj: We did a lot of practice jumps off the Pont de la Caille. i spent time training Kal who had no experience with ropes or rigging. kal: it was one hell of a responsibility, as i had to ensure his safe descent after the jump. there was no margin for error and i was a total novice. aj: Once we had the measurements (110m) it was a matter of sussing out how the security kAl Sory Tour worked and when was the best time to jump. We decided to jump early in the morning because during the day there were just too many people around. that meant we had to sleep up there. the night before the jump the team met on the second floor of the tower about an hour before closing time. kal: We tried to look like tourists but our bags contained the bungee cord, ropes, carabiners, sleeping bags and a bottle of champagne. My girlfriend Sara and her childhood friend Caroline, who became AJs wife and the mother of his children, went into the video control room to distract the security guards while AJ HAckETT we climbed a fence onto a roof where we were going to sleep that night. caroline: We asked the guards questions about the lift, which of course was a fascinating subject to us! But it worked and AJ and Kal (and a photographer) were able to get the gear up there and spend the night on the tower. aj: i fell asleep as soon as i got into my sleeping bag. caroline: i didnt sleep under the tower; i was in love but i wasnt crazy! the next morning we arrived at the tower at 6am and waited and waited. kal: i had forgotten to set our alarm clock or we hadnt heard it. either way, we woke an hour later than planned. caroline: By then a few people had gathered at the bottom of the eiffel tower wondering what was going on. the gendarmes realised that something was happening because everybody was looking up. kal: AJ set up the rigging and then put on his tuxedo while i tidied up. We drank some champagne, we hugged, AJ counted five-four-three-two-one and he jumped. aj: it was a real buzz. its the same feeling i get anytime i do a bungee. theres a bit
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We tried to look like tourists, but our bags contained the bungee cord, ropes, carabiners, sleeping bags and a bottle of champagne

im most proud of the fact that we changed the way people think about personal challenge

of tension beforehand, but when im in the air, im at peace. im relaxed. caroline: When he jumped everyone went quiet, then he bounced back up and everybody cheered. it was like Wow, hes actually done it. aj: After the jump, Kal lowered me to the ground and i was greeted by the gendarmes. they had no idea what was going on. caroline: they looked a little gobsmacked by the whole thing, but they let him have a drink of champagne, untie himself, and say a few words to the camera. aj: the police were cool really. they were just doing their job. they didnt know what to do with me, but they decided to put me in the back of a police van. Sophie Jeandel (who helped AJ organise the jump) had my passport and my plane tickets to show i was leaving the country, so they knew i wasnt going to hang around and jump off the Arc de triomphe or something silly. ten minutes later they told me i could go. caroline: What were they going to charge him with? He hadnt damaged anything, he hadnt hurt anyone; hed just done something a bit crazy. We had dinner that night and he left the next day. He came back to France a few months later, we got married and 25 years later we have three kids together and were divorced. aj: ive done a number of jumps that are special to me in different ways. ive done jumps with my children when they were little. ive done so many jumps, but the eiffel tower jump was definitely a catalyst for the whole bungee phenomenon and it changed my life. caroline: AJ went from being a builder to an entrepreneur. aj: it created a huge amount of attention. there were some beautiful images in newspapers and magazines and people in New Zealand became quite infatuated with the whole thing. elaine hackett (AJs sister): the first i heard about it was when my mother rang me freaking out. Her house was surrounded by reporters and she couldnt get out of her front door. it was outrageous. My mates started ringing me and asking me if i was related to the crazy dude who had jumped off the eiffel tower. henry: i was watching the 6 oclock news that evening and there was AJ. Hed pulled it off. Hed done it. aj: it was an amazing, iconic jump but im most proud of the fact that we changed the way people think about personal challenge. i love that we took something thats clearly bloody mad and tamed it.
More info, photos and video at: www.ajhackett.com