Jacob Rhodes was born in Oxnard, California, to a junior-high cafeteria cook and a car mechanic. He played drums in various Nard Core bands for 7 years after high school at which point he joined the ranks of art students at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Upon receiving his BFA in New Genres, Rhodes joined the US Army 172 Infantry Brigade. After 3 years of service (2002-2005) he put back on his student uniform to attend Yale School of Art, earning an MFA from the sculpture department. In his work, as well as in his life, Rhodes explores codes of masculinity, class and the inherent violence in homo-social interaction.