Mahdroo McCaleb was born Matthew C. McCaleb. He changed his name to Mahdroo in January of 2006 after having a self-actualizing experience. "Mahdroo" is a phonetic spelling of the combination of the word Madrone and the "oo" sound from kooky. Mahdroo claims that his name means "he who brings enthusiasm." [citation needed]
Mahdroo was born in Chicago in 1979, and then spent the majority of his childhood years in Rochester, New York. At 18 he moved to Texas for university and after graduating stayed 3 more years. Mahdroo then relocated to Los Angeles California for 7ish years. In 2013 he relocated to San Francisco where he met and married his wife, Sarah Benjamin. In 2017 they moved back to Los Angeles. Mahdroo has also lived in Chicago, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and North Carolina.