Erickson grew up in Sister Bay and spent college summers acting and interning at Northern Sky Theater. The process of choosing where to go to college was stressful, Erickson said. He went on a road trip to visit schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but he said St. Norbert felt the most natural to him. Following college, Erickson headed to Chicago to pursue acting, mostly improvisation and film work, and continued that until 2010 when he realized he needed a change. Erickson has been managing Ward Eight cocktail bar for the past seven years – a place and he some friends started.