Henry van Asch began a life in adventure sports – an avid skier he set records in speed skiing, with a top speed of 194kph and represented New Zealand at the World Downhill Championships. But his interests expanded beyond skiing when he met a man named AJ Hackett.
In 1988 the duo set up the world’s first permanent commercial bungy site at the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown – this marked the genesis of modern day bungy jumping.
Twenty five years later AJ Hackett Bungy is still delivering amazing experiences, with the likes of the Nevis Bungy, Nevis Swing and the Auckland Bridge Bungy.
Last year the business turned 25 and in true style it celebrated with a pre-party build up and plenty of festivities. Henry van Asch remains the co-owner of AJ Hackett Bungy and is also the owner of Van Asch wines, having diversified into the wine industry in 1993.
Canterbury Today finds out about his first bungy, what keeps him motivated and what the next 25 years hold for the iconic bungy business.
Twenty-five years ago you stood on the Kawarau Bridge and opened the world’s first commercial bungy jump – how did that feel?
Well 25 years ago on the 12th of November, we started jumping at the Kawarau Bridge. We’d spent a few weeks getting DOC to approval and AJ got out there a couple of days beforehand and built the jump deck.
We had the Mayor out there, a few apprehensive spectators and some of the agents from town. Jeff Desbecker forked out his $75 and was happily the first customer to jump off – to do this big new exciting thing – bungy jumping.
The Kawarau Bridge was built in 1880 and in early 1962 a new bridge opened, so the old bridge sat there and became a bit dilapidated over 25 years.
There was a fire at one end of the bridge, but luckily a local had seen it smoking and called the fire brigade, so the year before we started jumping the whole thing nearly burnt down.
The army talked about using it as a demolition exercise at one point, but we approached the DOC and said we’d like to set up a commercial bungy jump from this site.
They looked at us like we were a bit crazy. Luckily we were able to convince them that we could do it safely.
We went on to set up a restoration fund for the bridge and when we opened we walked around the audience and shook tins to collect coins. We were only granted a 30 day permit initially but it was great, it all started from there.
The DOC saw that it was going to work and granted us a six month licence, and then we got five years, then eventually a very long term licence.
What inspired you personally to start AJ Hackett Bungy?
25 years ago I met AJ in France while I was competing in high-performance sports and together we met friends who were really into Bungy.
We saw the amazing affect it had on them and became inspired to take it to the next level. We realised while jumping with friends all around the world that it was something quite special and so we decided to commercialise it and offer bungy to the world.
What’s been most memorable about the last 25 years of being in business?
The most memorable thing for me is that every time someone jumps, they’re creating their own memory – it’s a special moment for them. Also knowing that we treat each person as an individual and acknowledge it’s their first time and a big achievement is really memorable for me. They come out here and do this amazing activity that’s meaningful for them.
What’s been your worst moment in business?
One of the worst things was dealing with people who just saw bungy as a cash cow, with no respect for the safety systems.
In America people used to make what we called the ‘supermarket bungy’ – a bungy cord and a one page sheet of instructions which they started selling by mail order. Dealing with those cowboys was quite a difficult and taxing phase.
So within a few years we wrote of code of practise that really set the foundation for bungy to carry on without being destroyed by people who weren’t so concerned with the safety or as passionate about the activity.
That code of practise was used all across the world subsequently and we still operate to it today.
When and where was your best bungy?
My bestbungy was probably the first one in Hamilton over the Waikato River at about 20 metres – so it wasn’t a huge bungy, but bungy for me was really about the technical system and processes, working out how to do something that was a bit different using gravity. Instead of falling into the water, we’re actually bouncing around above it.
My favourite bungy was the first time on the Nevis Bungy. We had conceived this notion of putting a bungy together using a cable car so we designed and built it, and then we did some tests. I was the person driving it and so I was the first person to jump from it. It was very satisfying to design something that would challenge a lot of people.
How do you stay motivated and keep going in business?
I think AJ Hackett Bungy’s success has been based on the constant stream of ideas that have come along over the years.
I’m motivated to try and make some of those come into fruition for my own satisfaction and the eventual thrill of others.
Also, I’m very motivated by seeing my crew giving customers a good time and also seeing the crew we’ve gathered around us over the years growing in their ability and progressing with the business.
What does the next 25 years hold for AJ Hackett Bungy?
For the next 25 years of bungy we will just keep on evolving our products. There’s always been plenty of good ideas coming from the crew, so there’s definitely going to be a lot more stuff coming up.
We will always be focussed on our customers and making sure we delight and thrill.
We’ve just introduced the Zipride, which is a bit more accessible for people who aren’t quite as adventurous as some bungy customers. We are also developing some more products – bigger jumps, personalised service and higher levels of personal challenge for people.
Why do you think AJ Hackett Bungy has been such a successful and iconic brand and business?
I think bungy has managed to maintain its position in the front of the market for a long time because we’ve continued to adapt. We’ve brought new products in and stayed focused on our customer’s experience.
As well as being innovative with new and more exciting jumps, we’ve embraced technology. In the early days, a big innovation was just filming it and giving people a VHS cassette or taking photos on film, which they’d then take into town and get developed to get their ‘proof’.
Today our ‘proof’ as we call it, happens almost instantly – it’s important that people have that ‘proof’ as quickly as possible. So we have developed a lot of our periphery products around that.
How do you think tourism in Queenstown has changed during the last 25 years?
When we first arrived in Queenstown there were huge shoulder seasons and periods of low activity. The winters weren’t as long as they are now, as there was no snowmaking, and in the summer there were more domestic travellers and less international visitors.
Now there’s a ski season which lasts longer due to technology and a summer with more international travellers. With the work of organisations like Destination Queenstown and Tourism New Zealand we’ve created reasons to come to Queenstown year round. There are more conference and incentive groups and people travelling here in those fringe seasons, so it’s really a four season resort.
Why do you think bungy still poses a huge personal challenge for people?
Bungy’s still a great challenge because it is very personal. All you can do is get them to the edge in the best frame of mind and know were going to do it safely.
They’ve really just got to pull it out of themselves to jump. We’ve got ‘psychologists’ there basically, getting them ready to go, but at the end of the day we’re not going to push them off, they have to make that final decision to jump themselves.
We know they’re going to have a great experience and when they get off the end of the bungy they are sort of ‘reunited’ with the earth and get a great boost in their self esteem.
It’s really satisfying for all of our team, to get someone to jump. People who are the most scared generally get the most satisfaction.
If you could put a bungy jump anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
I jumped all round the world, but the Kawarau Bridge is one of the best places to jump in the world. There’s an area about 200km away from Queenstown where I’d really like to establish some other jumps in the next 25 years. Watch this space.
Interview questions supplied by Southern PR