Quotes by Philippe Petit

About Philippe Petit:

Philippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame in 1974 for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, on the morning of 7 August. For his unauthorized feat (which he referred to as "le coup") 1,350-foot (400-metre) above the ground, he rigged a 450-pound (200-kilogram) cable and used a custom-made 26-foot (8-metre) long, 55-pound (25-kilogram) balancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The next week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for his doing a performance in Central Park for children.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The impossible - we are told - cannot be achieved. To overcome the 'impossible,' we need to use our wits and be fearless. We need to break the rules and to circumvent - some would one say to cheat.

Philippe Petit

Notre Dame and Sydney - that was nothing. Notre Dame doesn't have a police station; it is not 1,000 or so feet high. It was a public structure, very easy to access. And Sydney Harbour Bridge was half-and-half: a bridge, in the middle of the night. Th...

Philippe Petit

If I am practicing on the wire, and you pushed me, I would not move, and if you take a piece of wood and beat me up on the shoulder and the head, I would not move. You would not put me out of balance. You would not be able to. I am solid as granite w...

Philippe Petit

As a high wire walker, I do not allow myself to 'leave the wire' during a performance.

Philippe Petit

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.

Philippe Petit

I did a walk in 1973 illegally in the northern side of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Philippe Petit

I focus, I invent, I transform, I challenge, I attempt, I observe, I perform.

Philippe Petit

I am the poet of the high wire - I never do stunts; I do theatrical performances.

Philippe Petit

I didn't go to school much. I was thrown out of different schools, and my university is the street.

Philippe Petit

I have been expelled from five different schools when I was a kid. And I learned basically all what I do by myself.

Philippe Petit

I was thrown out of different schools because I was practicing my arts - magic, juggling, and the high wire.

Philippe Petit

I will never fall prey to celebrity because I am too busy. I have other things to do than look at myself in the mirror.

Philippe Petit

I rendezvous with the long wire and perform the 'torero walk', gliding my feet, holding the pole away from my body, head high.

Philippe Petit

I walk on the wire; it's my profession, and there are no two high wire walks alike.

Philippe Petit

I would like to continue to tell stories of what I did in a biographical way, so I will continue to write.

Philippe Petit

It's very easy to walk on a wire if you spend a whole lifetime practicing for it.

Philippe Petit

My journey has always been the balance between chaos and order.

Philippe Petit

I've been arrested many times for illegal high wire walking and illegal street performing.

Philippe Petit

If I see three oranges, I have to juggle. And if I see two towers, I have to walk.

Philippe Petit

I've frowned at the idea of breaking records, the first one to do something, or do it longer, higher, more difficult.

Philippe Petit

I'm a wire-walker, but actually, I'm a moviemaker that hasn't done his first movie.

Philippe Petit

Author Bio

  • NamePhilippe Petit
  • DescriptionFrench high-wire artist
  • BornAugust 13, 1949
  • CountryFrance
  • ProfessionAcrobat; Magician; Circus Performer; Bicycle Racer