From Fire Fights to Fire lights

     My name is Phil Schuller I was born Nov 1988 in Freeport, Pennsylvania, USA. 18 years later I decided to join the Army, I selected to go for Infantry and was assigned to 1st Platoon Delta CO, 1-32 Infantry, 3BCT, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, NY. 

     January 2009 we left for Kunar Province Afghanistan, this was my first time outside of the US. An eye-wakening experience for me, complete culture shock at first but as our deployment dragged out I made friends with the locals in Asmar, exchanged battle stories with Afghan Army, and ate dinners with Police. 12 months, Numerous Fire fights,and 2 air assault missions later Our platoon came home with no casualties. We were damn lucky if you ask me.

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     Turning 21 in a hostile country leaves you feeling like you got something to make up for(contrary to popular belief Army guys can’t consume alcohol on deployment). The closer the end of my contract came the more I realized Alcohol was becoming a problem for me, I was drinking every day after work, blacking out, chugging mix drinks through beer bongs, I even spent $5000 on booze alone in 1 week. It was bad and I needed to change so when my contract ended in Nov 2010 I tried giving up on liquor and stuck to beer, it never really worked until one night I drank way too much after not consuming it in months I puked so hard I thought I was dying. Now the taste of alcohol turns my stomach I haven’t counted my days but its been at least 2 years I have kept away from it. Beyond the problems with alcohol, coming home from the army was proving to be a dark time in my life. I was Invited back to Pennsylvania to stay with my parents, expecting to ease back into civilian life. A few months later my parents ended up losing the house my father grew up in, the same house I grew up in. Around the same time I was learning, how true the promises the VA, and the recruiters make are. Time disappeared with the house, and so did I. I became overwhelmed with doubt. Doubt of my country, doubt of my government, my service, of myself and my choices. Up was down, day was night, in the land of Liberty. (I used to joke about how fun a zombie apocalypse would be, that was until I realized I was in one)I wouldn’t go into public places unless I absolutely had to, I shut myself off from the outside world and let hate consume me, I began withering away losing muscle mass, my teeth were falling out, and food became tasteless. The only thing that kept me eating was knowing I couldn’t sustain myself without a form of sustenance. 

     Jeri Dermidzakis and I go back a ways. Around the time I decided to join the army my friend Alex and I decided to try and make a metal band, with the least musical talent I was doing vocals, he was pretty good with a guitar and we both knew a drummer, so we looked around for another member to play rhythm and that’s when I met Jeri. 

     Whats better than a cute girl that likes metal and plays guitar? While the band never really worked out it was fun while it lasted. Jeri and I got to be close friends, hanging out and partying up until the day I shipped out. Now we got close but never to close as I foolishly kept distance between us. She at the time was in a relationship and I was no home-wrecker. 

     I was at the lowest low in my life when Jeri and I started hanging out again. She brought me out of my shell and back to life, She was the medicine to my sickness. Some time later I assume we both had an unspoken passion for one-another which brings us to July 4 2012 She took me to her parents house to witness her fire dancing. If it was a dance of seduction it worked. A couple days later she asked me out before I could and we’ve been together since.

     She Introduced me to my first festival, illuminating the torch.Tthe torch that gave sight to my third eye, and gave a soul to the machine, for the first time since the war I felt Human. The more we traveled to festivals the more involved and intrigued I became with flow arts. Now after almost 3 years of beating the crap out of myself with monkey fists I’ve become proficient and confident enough to share my journey and skills with the community.   

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     Flow is the medium that gives my mind peace by concentrating it elsewhere, and fire feeds me the adrenaline I could only find in combat. Through fire I’ve been re-birthed, to flow like water in the path least restricted, carving monuments in the soil around me. We are the winds that change, so open your sails or be left at sea.     

     As of lately I graduated with a degree for computer aided drafting and design that I haven’t done much with. I’ve built a 3D printer that I’m still working on coding(not my strong suit) hopefully i get it working in time to be of use building some pixel poi, I also do some spray can art and have started playing with acrylics, even do some wire wrapping every so often. I’m a bit of a do it yourself kind of person, hands on learner. Jack of all trades, master of none. Currently working on getting our Motor-home road ready so we can travel and Illuminate minds on the road full time