Philippe Petit, Biography.

Philippe Petit

Biography

• A famous french tightrope walker
• A film named the Walk

• Very young interested in magic and juggling
• At the age of sixteen, he trained in funambulism as a self-taught person and it became his hobby.

• In nineteen seventy-one, he passed between the two towers of Notre Dame de Paris illegally, without any security.
• In nineteen seventy-three on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney illegally and without any security

•  His biggest project and the more famous one : pass between the Twins Towers
•  Prepared during 6 years what he called the artistic crime of the century
• Traveled many times to New York to make observations
• On August nineteen seventy-four he walked during forty-five minutes on a sixty-one meters long and four hundred and seventeen high cable.
• Was hailed by the people in the street and arrested by the policemen

Why a hero ?

Maybe you don't understand why I consider him like a hero. He didn't save anybody or made an incredible discovery. I think it is like a different kind a hero, a heroic mindset.

First he simply had the courage to make it happen and I find it is already a lot. But there is more. He said :

« Ma criminalité est purement artistique. Si j'avais demandé l'autorisation et qu'on me l'avait refusée, j'aurais fait cette traversée quand même. Mais je n'y ai même pas songé. Pour moi, c'est une évidence : il n'y a pas besoin de permission quand on a envie de faire des choses belles. Il faut les faire, c'est tout. »

My criminality is purely artistic ; would I have asked permission and if it had been refused, I would have made this walk anyway. For me me it is obvious, Making beautiful things does not require permissions ; you have to make them, that's all.

He has a different philosophy : he doesn't care about the rules. He does not stop his ideas because of the limits imposed by laws. Being a hero require to think out-of-the box and sometimes to dare breaking the rules. This could be perceived dishonest or foolish but by achieving their dreams, and making something revolutionary, useful or only beautiful, heroes make humanity growing.  

In my opinion a hero is somebody who inspires you and Philippe Petit is one of them.

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