Ryan was born in Dundee Scotland, and at aged 17 joined the Royal Air Force where he served in the Military Police for 9 years, he was deployed all accross the world, including operational tours of Kuwait, Saudi and Iraq during the second gulf war. Ryan later joined the civillian police where he served for 22 years before being ill health retired due to PTSD. During his career, Ryan served in many specialist areas, including intelligence development, Counter Terrorism Policing and as a Crime Scene Investigator. His final role was as a senior leader (Inspector) where he led and managed critical and major incidents. He continues to live in Dundee with his wife and two teenage children.