While growing up, Ryan and his family often went on hiking and skiing trips in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.[7][14] Since Ryan shares his first name with his father, he was given the nickname, "P.D." (for Paul Davis), but it was often mistaken for "Petey," a name which Ryan disliked.[15] When Ryan was 16, his father died of a heart attack in bed and Ryan found him there. According to Ryan, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all died from heart attacks at ages 55, 57, and 59 respectively, inspiring his later interest in health and exercise.[14] After his father's death, Ryan's grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, moved in with his family and he helped care for her.[4] His fatherÂ’s death provided Ryan with Social Security benefits until his 18th birthday, which he saved to pay for his education at Miami University of Ohio.[15][16][17]
As a junior at Joseph A. Craig High School in Janesville, Ryan was elected class president, which made him prom king and gave him his first political position, a seat on the school board representing his high school.[4] He competed in track, was on his high school's ski and varsity soccer teams and played basketball in a Catholic recreational league,[18][19][20] as well as being a member of several academic and social clubs and the Model United Nations.[18][4] After his sophomore year he worked at McDonald's.[4]