Dominic Fike

Dominic David Fike was born December 30, 1995, in Naples, Florida; to Jessica Fike and David Mills. He is of mixed African-American, Filipino, and Haitian descent. Fike has two older step-brothers; a younger brother, Alex; and a younger sister, Apollonia (Apple).

Growing up, both of Fike's parents were heroin addicts. His father was absent for much of his childhood. When Fike was ten, his father re-entered his life for a week, in which time he taught Fike a few chords on the guitar, before he left again. His mother had persistent problems with drug addiction and spent much of Fike's childhood in and out of jail, causing him to stay in different homes, such as those of his older brother, distant relatives or his parents' friends. Fike recalled that he and his brother often had to take care of each other due to his parents' frequent absence from his life. He has also said that he frequently witnessed domestic violence growing up, due to a number of violent stepfathers.

Fike has said his childhood life was "full of adventure," as he and his friends would spend time in a forested area near their neighborhood that they called the "Forest of Avalon", where he said they would eat snacks and smoke cannabis. Fike went to a number of different high schools, including Naples High, Estero High, and Palmetto Ridge High School, the latter from which he graduated in 2014. Fike briefly enrolled in a college but dropped out in less than 3 days.

Fike was a fan of Jack Johnson, Blink-182 and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He first acquired a guitar at the age of ten and learned how to play songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He and his older brother Sean would often hang out at the guest house of a friend’s home, called the "Backhouse", where they would freestyle. Later they coalesced into a formal rap collective which attracted an audience in the community and Fike formed a sub-group called Lame Boys ENT. Fike started uploading songs on the Internet in high school. The first song he uploaded on YouTube was called "Not A Word". He also put songs he recorded onto tapes.