Rackstraw grew up in the Sunderlandsuburb of New Silksworth, and attended Southmoor Comprehensive. His voice actingcareer began with a chance meeting with a localradio presenter, when he began writing scripts for radioadverts, and later voicing them. He said in 2013: “I thought it was daft that these guys get paid a lot more FOR reading than I was FOR writing. So I started augmenting my income by writing ridiculous things and accents into my scripts that no one else could do but me. I eventually got a show reel together and I started sending it all over the country."