Austin Nichols was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was raised in Austin, Texas until the age of 18, when he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in pictures. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2002 with a degree in creative writing.Austin was also a competitive water skier, representing the U.S. Junior Water Ski Team in the Pan-American Championships in 1997. Was once ranked #3 in the World Junior Rankings list in the Tricks event and skied in the Junior U.S. Masters Championships twice. Despite this, Austin had to undergo rigorous training to beef up his legs for the role of "Jake Hammond" in Wimbledon (2004). He trained in Los Angeles with Murphy Jensen (1993 French Open Doubles champion with his brother Luke Jensen) for two months and then went to London for a month and trained with Pat Cash (1987 Wimbledon singles champ) prior to filming his role.