Born in Burlington, Ontario, Jeff spent the first seven years of his life in the tough east end of Hamilton, Ontario, where he later trained at the famous McGory's boxing gym as a teen. Jeff is the son of two time Grey Cup Champion with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, tight end Gord Christian. The Christian family moved to the small village of Mount Hope where Gord, and mother Diane, raised seven children. Three of these brothers, Gord, Brandon, and Michael, played professional hockey. Jeff was a stand out athlete at Ancaster High School and enshrined on the Ancaster High School Wall of Fame. He played hockey, football and basketball. As quarterback and linebacker of the Ancaster Royals JV team, Christian won championships two out of three years.