A fifth generation Californian, Phil was raised in Sierra Madre, a suburb of a suburb in the greater Los Angeles basin. After a youth misspent at beaches and at Stony Point, Phil eschewed a promising career as a professional skateboarder to attend college at San Luis Obispo and Berkeley.

A longtime resident of Berkeley, Phil has worked in sales and marketing for some of the largest outdoor companies, in advertising for a major California monopoly, and as a chef at Berkeley's finer eateries.

He enjoys backpacking, having traversed the length of Sierra numerous times, as well as the paths of the Cotswolds and Wales with his wife, ultrarunner Carol LaPlant. A cyclist, he regularly bikes to work and has ridden in such events as the Davis Double Century, the Berkeley Hills Century, and the occasional festive Critical Mass ride. When the water warms up, he swims in the Bay and has swum from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Phil and Carol do ultradistance runs every fall in the Glasshouse Mountains in Queensland, Australia, where they were married at the Australia Zoo. Phil can also be found crawling through bushes foraging for mushrooms for the eating pleasure of his family and friends. He keeps his cooking chops by helping prepare meals for the homeless of Berkeley. Phil's a member of Slow Food USA, the San Francisco Mycological Society, the North American Mycological Association and the Bay Area Ultra Runners.