Ayres grew up in Sea Cliff, New York, and graduated from North Shore High School.

He sang in various choral groups as a child, including the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and the North Shore High School Madrigals.

[1][dead link‍] He became friends with his drummer, Chris Anderson, during high school and they began playing together at age 15.

[2] He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, from 2014 to 2017 before dropping out to work on his Drive Slow EP.

His defining artist was D'Angelo, whose album Voodoo "felt like what music is supposed to be to me," according to Ayres.