Using a mathematical formula developed by New Zealand's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, he created a super-stretchy elastic bungy cord in the mid-1980s.

[6] He made what became a famous bungy jump off the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 26 June 1987,[4] receiving a brief jail sentence for the illegal feat and generating international attention to the sport.

[7][8] He later expanded his company by founding bungy sites in Australia, France (Souleuvre Viaduct in Normandy), Germany, the United States, Mexico, Indonesia, and Macau.

[2][6][9][10] He is credited with launching New Zealand's adventure tourism industry[11] and helping to develop a safe code of operation for bungy jumping in use internationally.

[14] In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hackett was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to adventure tourism.