Steven Haworth was born in London on 23 January 1976. He grew up in Staplehurst, Kent, where he attended Maidstone Grammar School. He was a wrestling fan from the age of 12, particularly enjoying The Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs, and attended SummerSlam in 1992 while wearing The Ultimate Warrior face paint. He studied at the University of Leicester in the 1990s and spent a sandwich year at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, graduating in 1997 with a in chemistry.