 Ayres grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated from Pembroke Country Day School in 1977.He played varsity basketball, ran cross country, and served as executive editor of his high school newspaper.Ayres wrote an op-ed piece his senior year called "Black Like Me" (named for the 1961 book of the same name), a controversial piece detailing the consequences of his checking the "African- American" box for race on his PSAT, which led to consideration for academic awards.