[1] Jake is the second oldest of nine siblings born to Aaron and Stacey Hoot, both of whom are Christian missionaries.
At the age of nine, he and his family relocated to the Dominican Republic where his parents lived and worked as missionaries from 1998 to 2008.
He learned the guitar and began singing while in the country, became fluent in Spanish, and played in the Dominican baseball league for a year.
He graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2013 and found a job at a local media production company.
At the same time, he pursued a music career and built his popularity by performing in many local gigs.