After his father passed away at age five, Andy was brought up in the Midwest by his nurse mother. Over time, Hurley became a strict vegan and an adherent to the straightedge style of living. He was inspired to pick up the drumsticks early on by Metallica's Lars Ulrich, and though he played in plenty of acts throughout the years including Project Rocket, Arma Angelus, the Kill Pill, and most notably the political metalcore unit Racetraitor.He became most well known as the skinsman for popular Chicago pop-punk group Fall Out Boy. He joined the band in 2003, after they had already recorded their first album, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend. The group steadily built up a loyal fan base following around the country before exploding into the mainstream consciousness with their third album, From Under the Cork Tree, in 2005.

Andy attended University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, double-majoring in anthropology and history.^[1] He plans to finish both degrees whenever his touring and recording schedule permits.

Hurley has what some would describe as anarcho-primitivist views, and believes that someday civilization will collapse. When confronted about this in the February 2007 issue of Alternative Press, he claimed that his career contradicted his beliefs, but at the same time, he had to make a living.