Mel started out with a heavy interest in photography which then led him to be interested in Super 8 filmmaking. When video became affordable, Mel was intrigued and got interested in video production which eventually led him to receive an AA in Motion Picture and TV Production at Scottsdale Community College.

Mel met up with Paul Hoeprich as his teaching assistant at the East Valley Institute of Technology and was eventually brought into the fold of Catbrain. He refers to it as the usual "Deadly Descent into Addiction."

He sites his major influences as Scorsese, Kubrick, Lucas, and Hitchcock and works with Catbrain because he enjoys late nights, cold pizza, and because chicks dig filmmakers. Mel's favorite thing about working with Catbrain is watching some of the younger crewmembers grow as filmmakers.