 Savoldi was born two months premature in Castano Primo (Italy).He spent his childhood in Castano Primo and Bergamo (Milan, Italy) and was raised by his grandmother and an aunt before finally joining his family in Three Oaks, Michigan at age twelve.Giuseppe Savoldi anglicized his first name to "Joe" and became an athlete in high school, excelling in football, basketball, baseball, and track.