Ferguson was born in Stobhill Hospital, in the Springburn district of Glasgow, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, on 17 May 1962,[REF][REF] and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied" [REF].
His first visit to the United States was in 1975 when he was 13 to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City [REF].