Peter was born in Phoenix Arizona, and his interest in the medical field started at a young age. His dad was a family physician, and much of his childhood was formed as he watched his dad run his own medical clinic. Patients would frequent their home, and they would sometimes stop by a patient's home on the way home from church.
They moved to an area north of Spokane when Peter was 12, and he made the transition to country life, learning to drive a tractor and falling in love with farming and nature. He ended up starting and operating a cabinet and furniture company for several years until he and his wife made the decision to get out of the industry and follow his passion for medicine.