Andrew Meekins, known as "Drew", was born in
Juneau,
Alaska on April 10, 1985. He is one of five children (four sons and one daughter) born to
Edward Russell "Russ" Meekins, Jr. (1949–2020) and his wife Nancy Harvey. All four of his grandparents moved to
Anchorage, Alaska from the
Northeastern United States during the tail end of World War II and were active in business and civic affairs in Anchorage throughout the middle and late 20th century. His father, his aunt
Susan Sullivan, and his grandfather
Russ Meekins Sr. all served in the
Alaska State Legislature as
Democrats representing Anchorage. His father, the only one of the three to serve more than one term, was the House's majority leader in his last term (1981–1983). In that term, he played a key role in two events which rank amongst the most significant in the history of the
Alaska Legislature: the mid-session overthrow of the Democratic House leadership and its replacement with a multi-party coalition, and the bribery conviction and subsequent expulsion of a member of the
Alaska Senate. As a result of the fallout from these events, he soon found himself on the outs with Alaska's political establishment. The family left Alaska ca. 1990 and moved to Massachusetts, the home state of Nancy Harvey's parents, settling on
Cape Cod. ==Skating career==