Phil grew up in Edina, Minnesota, home of the first indoor mall. His father’s grandparents came over from Norway and homesteaded a farm north of Fargo, North Dakota. His mother’s grandparents also came over from Norway and ended up in Virginia, Minnesota; the iron range.

Phil played varsity football, basketball and track at Edina East High School, winning the Minnesota State High School Track Meet in the discus. He went on to Dartmouth College where he majored in mathematics, was All Ivy, All New England and All East in Track, and played tight end on the Ivy League Championship Football team. Some of his Dartmouth teammates included Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, Buddy Teevens, Head Football Coach at Dartmouth, Dave Shula, ex-Head Coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, Nick Lowery, All-Pro place kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jeff Kemp, quarterback for the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.

After graduating from Dartmouth, Phil tried out for the Chicago Bears. After his "summer with the Bears," he went on to receive an MBA from The University of Chicago and pursued a business career while writing stage and screenplays.

Phil currently lives in Los Angeles where he is a stockbroker during market hours and a writer after the closing bell. He’s written four award-winning plays set in small towns in Minnesota. Including his one-acts, Phil has 8 published plays that have been produced in over 100 cities around the U.S. and Canada. As a script doctor, he’s re-written three movies that have been produced, as well as thirteen original screenplays. He's also sold two screenplays.