Kristan Proudman was born in the township of Elizabeth Vale, South Australia in October of 1971. His family soon moved to his mothers' hometown of Cairns, in Far North Queensland, Australia where he attended school. Kristan acquired a Bachelor's Degree in Education at James Cook University where he discovered the enchantment of the written word. After graduating from JCU he began teaching in a number of primary schools in Australia before moving to the United States to teach computer science.