Since bungy jumping was pioneered in 1987 by two crazy Kiwis, AJ Hackett Bungy has always kept true to its roots; a culture of radical defiance against ‘the norm’ and the perceived limits we put on ourselves. The irresistible high of adrenaline was catching, and it couldn’t be contained within borders.
Thousands of people in Aotearoa, and now across the world, have leaped headfirst into fear from our platforms and conquered something they never thought they could. To inspire the next generation of risk takers and hope chasers, AJ Hacket Bungy New Zealand created the first ever Thrash More band competition to give young Kiwi musicians a crack at their dream.
The Up-and-Comer
After two months of judging and over 20 entries, we are stoked to announce Powder Chutes as the winning band who will receive $7,000 towards music equipment or a studio recording session and $3,000 for their chosen community music or secondary school music program.
Powder Chutes entered with a video of their jam session, rocking out with an original song, ‘Spinning’. Their performance scored them a place as one of three finalists thanks to public votes before taking them all the way in our final judging round. Powder Chutes, along with all of our other entries, committed to thrashing more, fearing less and living life to the fullest just like our competition’s judges, Kiwi legends Alien Weaponry.
The Legends
Alien Weaponry are a Kiwi metal band from Waipu who have made it big on the international stage because of their Live More Fear Less approach to their music. After forming in 2010 by two brothers who were only 8 and 10 years old at the time, the young band got their start at music competitions by winning both the Smokefree Rock Quest and Smokefree Pacifica Beats in 2016, the only band to have ever won both events. Alien Weaponry also have a unique story and cultural slant to their original music; many of their songs proudly feature lyrics in te reo Māori.
Despite being warned that singing in Te Reo might hurt their success on the world stage, Alien Weaponry said f*ck you to fear and did it anyway, staying true and authentic to their roots. They continue to represent New Zealand music, metal music, and Māori language with pride across the world (currently based in Los Angeles); a risk in the face of fear has more than paid off.
The authenticity of Alien Weaponry is something that we relate to down to our bones. The foundations of AJ Hackett Bungy were built because person after person believed in what we did, no matter how extraordinary it seemed at the time, and they also believed in themselves enough to jump off things with rubber tied to their ankles… and look at us today.
The Purpose
We ingrained the Live More Fear Less lifestyle into our Trash More competition alongside the epic support of Alien Weaponry in the hopes of not only passing the torch of fearlessness to other young Kiwis, but to fuel the fire of future trailblazers just like Powder Chutes.
Check out POWDER CHUTES website to listen to their awesome music!