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The First Man To Take The Leap In Modern Day Bungee Jumping

The First Man To Take The Leap In Modern Day Bungee Jumping

The origins of bungee jumping go back thousands of years to Vanuatu in what they called 'land-diving'.

Women would tie vines to their feet and leap not for water but for the ground, something missionaries didn't feel comfortable seeing women do, and so banned them and made it a test of man-hood instead.

But it was in the 1980s that a group of larrikin Kiwi blokes decided to morph it into the modern adventure sport it is today, by creating elastic bungee cords and diving into water rather than hurtling towards the ground.

AJ Hackett, the man most know behind the sport, was the entrepreneur who took it to commercial heights.

But out of that group of Kiwi adventure nuts, it was Chris Sigglekow who took that first leap to test if their theory worked.

In this documentary aptly called The Jump, Sigglekow is a true character whose account of that time in his life is entertaining enough to listen to, even without all the old footage and pictures taking you back to 1980s Auckland.

Created by Sigglekow's son-in-law, director Alex Sutherland, you can see more from the filmmakers Thick As Thieves over here .

If you have a short film, web series, documentary or any other interesting video stories you would like featured on HuffPost Australia, email emily.verdouw@huffingtonpost.com.au

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