Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petitis a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, on the morning of August 7, 1974. For his unauthorized feat1,350 feetabove the ground, he rigged a 450-poundcable and used a custom-made 26-footlong, 55-poundbalancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The following week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for him doing a...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPerformance Artist
Date of Birth13 August 1949
CityNemours, France
CountryFrance
I have a fear of water, believe it or not. To put a wire 12 feet over a swimming pool frightens me. I don't like water.
I have been expelled from five different schools when I was a kid. And I learned basically all what I do by myself.
I hate all electronic things that are supposed to help the human being. You don't smell, you don't hear, you don't touch anymore.
I didn't go to school much. I was thrown out of different schools, and my university is the street.
I did a walk in 1973 illegally in the northern side of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
I am a wire-walker. I can walk any time, anywhere - I'm indestructible.
Certainly, in the story of my life, the walk between the Twin Towers was one of the grandest, one of the most memorable, but not solely the grandest and the most memorable.
Every year, I am conscious of the anniversary of my 1974 World Trade Center walk.
Faith is what replaces doubt in my dictionary.
Everybody wanted me to be rich and famous on my art. And I said no to all the commercials and all the seedy offers.
When I was six years old, I fell in love with magic. For Christmas, I got a magic box and a very old book on card manipulation. Somehow, I was more interested in pure manipulation than in all the silly little tricks in the box.
When a loved one disappears, you continue to live with the accompaniment of that person. One has to find a balance between joy and sorrow.
There is a child inside me that wants to come out and do something to surprise all the adults.
Right after my Twin Towers walk, I was approached by hundreds of people, and I said no to all the offers. I could have become a millionaire overnight, obviously, but I said no, and I continue to be uninterested.