12 Michael Anthony Jackson

Published on 09/11/2003 00:00

Michael Anthony Jackson

Entrepreneur and author, 33

Lives Edinburgh.

Who he? Owner of Wild Day, a multi-million-pound outdoor equipment centre with the biggest website of its kind in Europe. His book Life Lessons from History’s Heroes, was released in June and has been listed for the WH Smith People Prize Literary Award. It explores the lessons we can learn from the giants of history such as Alexander the Great. Has also launched a technology company called Mobiqa, a paperless ticketing system allowing customers to receive tickets in the form of bar codes on their mobile phones that are checked via scanner at the venue.

Conquests Mountains and Munros, mainly.

Haunts At book signings up and down the country.

Pluses He’ll be your very own Mr Motivator and you’ll get all the latest outdoor gadgets free.

Minuses Cosy nights in will be few and far between. He has off to New Zealand to spend six weeks climbing Mount Cook, the highest mountain in Australasia.

Do Be a water baby. This year he’s been scuba-diving in Zanzibar and is heading off shark-diving (in a cage) soon.

Don’t Ask him about K2. He entered record books for the world’s highest e-mail, from a height of 6,000m, but it was a near-death experience he finds hard to talk about.