Rise to Fame

Phil Swift has been working in the marketing and direct sales industry since the 1980s. He and his brother Alan later created 'Swift Response LLC' which markets high performance products directly to consumers through direct sales, direct response, television infomercials, internet advertising, telemarketing, and catalog distribution. The company became particularly known for its high performance Flex Seal Products which came in the market in the early 2011, following which the company was accredited by 'Consumer Reports' in 2012.

The various adhesive bonding products from the company are marketed by Phil himself as the brand's television spokesperson. As such, he has a much bigger exposure to the public than his brother, and is popular among the audience for his likable nature. However, it is not merely his personality that has made him popular. Through the product ads, he has performed some remarkable feats like sawing a boat in half and fixing it with Flex Tape before riding it on water, attaching bricks with Flex Glue and showing its weight lifting capabilities, or using it to make a buggy car by gluing together metal sleeves, tubing and panels. On September 30, 2017, YouTuber JonTron uploaded a comedic video titled 'Waterproofing My Life With FLEX TAPE', which immediately went viral and became the most watched video on his channel, earning over 42 million views so far. In fact, JonTron received so many requests for a second part to the video, that he eventually released 'Flex Tape II: The Flexening' on December 2, 2018, featuring Phil Swift as some other-worldly powerful being. Throughout 2018, numerous memes about Flex Tape and Phil blew up on the internet, which have created and perpetuated myths about his miraculous achievements ever since.