This August marks the 41st anniversary since Philippe Petit accomplished his daring achievement of walking across a suspended wire connecting the Twin Towers. In honor of his ambitious tight-rope walk on August 7th, 1974, we have 7 lesser known, but equally epic facts about the man that inspired the movie, The Walk.
1) His passion for magic, juggling and acrobatics began when he was only 6 years old.
(Via: Youtube)
2) Along with walking a thin suspended wire, he’s done handstands on the edge of the North Tower.
(Via: Gizmodo)
3) One of his first death-defying walks was between the Notre Dame Cathedral towers.
(Via: The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
4) Philippe also dared to walk along a wire fitted between two posts in the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973.
(Via: Buzzfeed)
5) As if he couldn’t get any cooler, after the documentary Man on Wire won an Academy Award for Best Documentary, he balanced the Oscar award on his chin.
(Via: Daily Mail)
And even has some real life advice on how to stay balanced.
(Via: Big Think)
6) Along with being a performer, artist, magician and public speaker, Philippe recently added author to the list following the publication of his book Why Knot?- a book focused exclusively on tying knots.
(Via: Amazon)
7) There’s no doubt Philippe has managed to accomplish the impossible – becoming an inspiration to many along the way.
(Via: Youtube)
To experience this suspenseful movie based on the incredible true story of Philippe Petit, see The Walk in IMAX® 3D.