chmitz is the elder of two children born to cook Fritz Schmitz, a former Bundeswehr soldier, and his wife Ramona, a nursery nurse. Raised in a Christian home alongside his younger brother Norman (born 1976), Schmitz spent his childhood in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia, following his parents' divorce.

His early musical interest grew when he started his first school band, called Bad to the Bone, which "was exactly as bad as the name suggests," he later stated.^[1] Schmitz's first professional band was called Junk Food and modelled on bands such as Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[1] Although the band was never offered a recording contract, they played live all over their area, resulting into occasional busking sessions with his friend Benedict, with whom he also performed as the Hin und Hair Schmitz duo.^[1] In 1992, Junk Food won a local talent contest which entitled them to record demo tapes at the Click Music Studios in Werl with producers Michael "Grant Michael B." Kersting and Stephan "Pomez Di Lorenzo" Baader. While the band broke up shortly thereafter, Grant and Di Lorenzo recognized his singing talents and hired Schmitz as a backing vocalist for several of their projects.^[1][2][3]