Chris Krauser was born Christopher Allan Krauser on September 8, 1977 in Sylvania, Ohio. His father, Christopher Paul Krauser, is of Polish and German descent. He previously owned a business and raced cars with Porsche. His mother, Jeanne, is half Italian and grew up in Southern California, and attended Hollywood High School. His paternal great-grandfather was from Warsaw, Poland, and his maternal grandmother was from Rome. A great-great uncle was reportedly a WWI fighter pilot back in Germany. Chris spent time in Ohio and California but mostly stayed in Ohio until August 2002. He attended Ladyfield Catholic School in Toledo, Ohio. During this time he got into some trouble at school and received bad grades. Growing up at an early age he started lifting weights after his father gave him his first barbell set. As a youth and a teen he won a few small powerlifting tournaments in the middleweight and light heavyweight class of 160-176 and 177-189 lbs. He became an avid weightlifter sometimes exercising most of the day. From an early age he dreamed of becoming a bodybuilder up until around age 19. Around that time, while academically struggling at St. Francis de Sales Catholic High School, he thought about becoming a model or actor. During his Freshman and Sophomore years he wrestled but won only 1 match. He wrestled briefly during his junior year after struggling to maintain the 112 lbs weight class.