Stefan Ackerie

His family migrated when he was 15 to Adelaide, South Australia, where he trained as a hairdresser and learned to speak English at nightschool.

[1] He owns a chain of approximately 50 hairdressing salons throughout Queensland and New South Wales as well as the Brisbane restaurant Jo Jo's, a bar and restaurant originally opened above the Queen Street Mall in the 1970s and now on Melbourne Street, South Brisbane.

[2][3] He also owns Stefan's Boating World in Coomera on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

[4] Stefan's Brisbane headquarters is located in South Brisbane, underneath the Skyneedle, a landmark which Stefan bought to prevent it being moved overseas after World Expo '88.

[7] He is also a keen power boat racer and holds the records for the fastest crossing of Bass Strait[8] and the fastest crossing of the Straits of Malacca.

The Skyneedle, over Stefan's headquarters, June 2019
The Stefan Racquet being removed from Milton Courts, circa 1999
The Stefan Racquet restored to Frew Park, circa 2014