Years ago, a short bio was written about me for a public appearance but was later pulled from publication when the event was cancelled. I’ve left out the author’s name since I haven’t yet secured permission to use it, but it was a very flattering and humbling piece.
Sometimes you don’t realize how lucky you’ve been or how rich your life experiences are until someone else starts enumerating them for you. After reading this text, I was somewhat surprised myself by the many things I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced — so far — and by the many amazing people I’ve met and known.
Pete Griffith Biographical Sketch
“I originally intended to sit down with Pete Griffith and discuss plans to write a simple paragraph for his biographical entry as part of a speaker’s background piece I was writing. But when I learned of his vast and diverse experience — both professionally and personally — I knew that a simple paragraph wouldn’t quite suffice.
Born just north of Windsor, Ontario, this adopted-Texan counts among his acquaintances such notables as, the Dalai Lama, the Queen of Thailand, four Nobel laureates, countless best-selling authors from Malcolm Gladwell to Salmon Rushdie; celebrities from Steve Martin and Woody Allen to Dave Matthews and Iggy Pop; sports legends from Mickey Mantle and Roger Staubach to Mike Modano, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus to name a few.
- Pete has enjoyed some amazing experiences and diverse accomplishments in his life, including:
- Landing on an active aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, while at sea
- Playing pro (minor league) hockey as a goalie, and later owning a GCHL team
- Being the first person to ever ice skate at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the NHL Dallas Stars
- Riding one of Don Gay’s prize bulls at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo
- Participating in active archaeological dig at Teotihuacan in Mexico
- Driving high-performance cars at numerous raceways and test tracks
- Photographing some of the most popular concert bands of the 70’s and 80’s
- Writing his first computer program in 1977 using the US Navy diving tables to print and save an official scuba diving plan.
- Training at Harvard’s prestigious School of Business with ‘The Harvard Business Review’
- Being one of the first dozen people to see the earliest (hours old) photos of the Titanic’s initial discovery
- Visiting some of the ‘more restricted’ portions of the Los Alamos National Laboratories in N.M., including the world’s most powerful magnet laboratory.
- Being a published writer in numerous consumer magazines totaling over 30 million circulation
- Sequencing Beethoven’s entire 5th Symphony (not to mention every Led Zeppelin song among others) in ‘MIDI’ format in the early 80’s
- Visiting the Oval Office and meeting three U.S. presidents in person
- Leading early production efforts for a major Hollywood movie about ‘Hitler’s Pope’, Pius XII and the death of his predecessor
- Getting a hands-on experience with remnants of an original Gutenberg Press
- Becoming a fully commissioned ‘Kentucky Colonel’ by decree of Governor Beshear
- Constructing his own crossword puzzles that have been published internationally and picked up in national magazines.
Professionally, he rose from being a delivery driver to store manager of a major electronics retailer by age twenty. He managed, trained and inspired numerous sales teams to achieve remarkable results in a host of different industries. His insatiable entrepreneurial spirit led him to be an early pioneer of marketing on the Internet, and he’s developed many successful websites and portals over the years. Pete has created many online viral marketing campaigns using video, animation and his wry sense of humor, and he’s quite an accomplished graphic designer in his spare time.
Pete is a certified scuba diver, accomplished video producer, and a master at Scrabble. He’s sailed the Gulf of Mexico, Montauk Point and the Potomac River. He’s hunted with trained raptors at the only accredited falconing institution in the U.S. and played golf at some of the most exclusive courses in the country. He enjoys collecting antique maps, globes, and flags, and is quite a geography/history buff.
When you ask him what ranks highest on his own list, Pete proudly names finding the his soul mate, Diana, a teacher and a native of Puerto Rico, and being a father to four amazing children: Justin (26) now serving in Iraq with the US Army, Nina (25) who made Pete a very proud grandfather with the birth of Noli, the precocious Patrick (4) who has plans to make it to the NHL someday, and Christian (2) who fears nothing, especially his beloved daddy.
After my meeting with Pete Griffith, I realized three things:
1. Everyone should experience life as he has.
2. That any organization looking to utilize his diverse talents in sales management, marketing or web development would benefit tremendously from his unique levels of experience; and,
3. Pete is definitely going to be one of my lifelines if I’m ever on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
You can learn more about him at his personal website, which, by the way, is appropriately named: petegriffith.com. ”
– 8/23/2009