Early life and education[edit]
Pettis was raised in Ithaca, New York. At the age of 13 he moved to the Seattle area, where he later graduated from Bellevue High School. Pettis is a 1995 graduate of The Evergreen State College, where he studied psychology, mythology and performing arts.
After college, Pettis worked as floor runner and camera assistant on feature films in Prague and as an assistant at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in London. He then attended Pacific Oaks College and graduated[9] with a teaching certificate. He worked as an art teacher for the Seattle Public Schools from 1999 through 2006.