Freeskier Margaux Hackett has achieved a lot in her life - much of it alongside her dad, Kiwi bungy jumping icon and entrepreneur AJ Hackett.
But her latest endeavour is one she hopes to do on her own, as she eyes Olympic glory.
"He likes to get a bit toomuch involved sometimes," she said with a grin. "I have to let him know there are boundaries.
"But he's one of the reasons I got to where I am today."
From putting her on skis at three years old, before taking her for her first bungy a year later to claim the title of youngest female bungy jumper, Hackett's dad always inspired her to push the limits.
The 22-year-old started a new chapter in her family's thrill-seeking legacy last week when she was selected to represent New Zealand at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year in the freeski slopestyle and big air event.
Margaux Hackett and her father AJ Hackett. Photo / Getty
Hackett came close in 2018, narrowly missing selection for PyeongChang by a few spots, but she's been on the rise in recent years, with multiple top 10 finishes at major international events.
She finished fourth at the freeski big air world cups in Atlanta and Beijing in the 2019/20 season, before claiming fifth at the 2020 X Games in Big Air and eighth at the same event in slopestyle.
Hackett said those results were sparked by that 2018 disappointment.
"Not qualifying was really hard for me," she said.
"I had to take a bit of a step back but I thought there's still going to be another Games in four years so I kept going and made sure I was surrounded by the best people to help me get to where I am.
"It lit a fire in me, so I kept training really hard and now we're here."
With her father a Kiwi and mother French, Hackett has spent much of her life between the two countries. She was born and raised in Annecy in France before moving to Wanaka at 16.
She describes herself as half Kiwi-half French but a desire to represent the fern had always been the dream.
"I was lucky enough to go to the Sochi Games as a spectator with my dad and that made the dream even bigger. I saw the level of skiing and thought I could totally do that so, ever since, I've been working really hard towards it."
With her Olympic debut on the horizon, the following months will be all about refining her skills and adding a few more tricks to her arsenal.
Margaux Hackett in action at the Obsidian Big Air at Cardrona. Photo / Photosport
She said she was wary of not adding "too much pressure" on herself though, knowing that the world will be watching.
"I think the Games are going to be a pretty big deal," she said. "It's definitely really different because everyone will be watching it, people that don't usually watch our sport too. It's a much bigger scale, there'll be a lot of people watching from back home.
"I'm always working on doing something that I haven't done before and making sure what I have done before I am doing really well.
"So that's the big focus right now, getting everything sorted and then learning a couple of new things before the Games and being ready to showcase them there." Ultimately, she said she hopes to just "inspire all young women, skiers and non-skiers, to follow their dreams".
"Don't take no for an answer, even when people go against you, and show them you can do it," she said.
"Not just girls in the sport, but in general. Things can be a bit more challenging at times and just showing that anything is possible."
