Born Josef Fenz at Hollabrunn, Austria. Living in Vienna.

Phettberg grew up in the village of Unternalb near Retz in a family of winegrowers. Following a brief stint as a bank clerk and continued education, he became assistant vicar with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. In the mid-eighties, he was co-founder of the groups Libertine Sadomasochismusinitiative Wien and of project Polymorph Perverse Klinik Wien.

Beginning in 1991, he participated in productions of the theatre group Sparverein Die Unz-Ertrennlichen. In 1992, Phettberg began writing the column "Phettbergs Predigtdienst" (Phettberg's sermon) for the weekly Vienna magazine Falter. The column is written in the form of a sermon, building upon the scripture passages for each respective sunday in the Catholic liturgical year.

In 2000, Phettberg pioneered internet broadcasting with a weekly show, in which he delivered his Phettberg's sermon column while being bonded and whipped.

In March 2001, together with Thomas Holzinger, he produced a full week, or 168 hours of continuous live internet broadcast, during which Phettberg was guarded in the prison of the so-called Arche Phettberg (also the title of the show) by half-naked young men in blue jeans.

On October 23, 2006, Phettberg suffered a stroke, followed by another shortly after. His condition and the subsequent long therapy and rehabilitation phase forced him into a work hiatus. During rehab, he lost 70 kilograms in weight