Phil Peggs
Stuffing many lives into one lifetime
"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough!"
-Robert Capa
"Where I will end up, I am not sure, but I am excited to see where it takes me…”
Phil (born November 19, 1982) has been referred to by other wingsuiters as the best wingsuit pilot on - or above - the planet. It’s a title that Phil shrugs off in his typically unassuming way. Phil refers to himself as a ‘semi-professional skydiver’. “When I’m actually working”, said Phil, “I am a broadcast engineer. I work in remote broadcasting trucks that are responsible for televising every sporting event you watch on TV. For the past three years, I’ve been on the Sunday Night Football crew for NBC.”
Phil’s life has been described as “trying to cram many lives into one lifetime”, and that’s apparent from his travel schedule. “If I planned my work schedule correctly, I could theoretically never go home. I traveled 240 days last year. When I wasn’t traveling for work, I was traveling to boogies and events for skydiving. I would say I spent less than 50 nights in my own bed last year.”
Instinct, happenstance, and impulse seem to guide Phil’s life. “My life has been a series of random moves just to experience new things. I randomly picked the first college I found that had a television program... I never even saw the campus until freshman orientation. After that, my next big random move was to Florida. One night I decided, ‘I want to live in Florida!’ The very next morning, I packed up my car, said good-bye, and left… I am happy to say that each time I have randomly chose a new life direction, it has turned out wonderfully, and the relationships I’ve formed have been very fulfilling.”
"...I spent less than 50 nights in my own bed last year..."
These guiding principles can be seen in how Phil first came to skydiving. “I had absolutely no desire to skydive. I had been asked many times, but never wanted to go. Only after I had graduated college, and had been working for a bit did I start looking for new activities. I booked a trip to Hawaii, and there was an ad for a dropzone on Oahu. I began to think, ‘I want to do that when I am in Hawaii!’ The more I thought about it, the less I could wait to do it. I went for a tandem at my local dropzone and was hooked. I went back the next week with the goal of being able to jump by myself in Hawaii. I was able to get my skydiving license in three weekends.” For most students, the process is closer to three months.
It was an impulse that changed Phil’s life for the better. “Skydiving always added to my life. When I entered into skydiving, I was seeking a community. I was also looking for purpose. My job is just that: a job. I wanted a reason to exist, and that (as corny as it sounds) is skydiving. There are goals to work towards, things to do, places to go, people to interact with…” When asked if he feels it was worth it, he replied with a characteristic wide grin:
“I lived in a tent for over a year so I could skydive as much as possible. So I’d say that’s a big yes!”
Phil’s urge to roam and explore shows no sign of stopping. “I have recently decided that I was in a rut, and it was time to leave the Florida/Pennsylvania circuit. Where I will end up, I am not sure, but I am excited to see where it takes me…”
-Jeff Donohue 2009
Phil’s urge to roam and explore shows no sign of stopping. “I have recently decided that I was in a rut, and it was time to leave the Florida/Pennsylvania circuit. Where I will end up, I am not sure, but I am excited to see where it takes me…”
-Jeff Donohue 2009