Peter Devine grew up in Greenwich Village in New York City, and was fascinated by swordfighting when he was young. This led to an interest in fencing which eventually brought him to the 1996 USA Olympic team in the foil. Devine fenced in college at Yale, where he was a first-team All-American in 1995. He later became a member of the Yale Fencing Association Board. Devine played many sports as a child and in 1988 played on the New York City Little League team that went to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.