A not so brief history…

Hailing from the multicultural oasis that is Southern California and cultivating his chops in the Metropolis of The West, Los Angeles, Mario's passion for aesthetics and storytelling began early. Raised with Erector sets and a parochial school education, he sought creative freedom through MTV, skate culture and street art. In the summer of 1995, with the guidance of a scout leader, he dismantled and reassembled his first PC, sparking a lifelong obsession with technology. Shortly after, his father brought home their first computer, launching Mario into the vast digital frontier, discovering a world of connection and possibility never before seen in history.

As a teen he was surrounded by friends who played in bands and a DIY culture that enabled him to make flyers and tees for his network of creators. He studied web development in high school, setting the stage for years of tinkering with code and the internet. His college years included a period of study at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where his fascination with human-computer interaction came to life. During this time, he interned at Warner Bros., working on databases for movies and TV shows as well as productions like Ellen and Where the Wild Things Are. His first dream gig came when he began working at Century Media Records with a roster of bands including In Flames, Architects and Six Gallery. He guided bands into the social era, creating websites, Myspace pages, and digital campaigns during a time of radical change in the music industry.

Mario eventually felt the pull of Silicon Valley's magnetic tech industry. At Amazon's Lab126, he worked on revolutionary products like the Alexa powered Echo Show, FireTV Cube and their 3D smartphone, gaining deep insights into product development. With this experience, he moved to PAX Labs, where he designed an ecosystem of tools and products for cannabis technology, a few of which included mobile apps, smart vaporizer interfaces using LEDs, haptics, and IMU data and internal tools for engineering and B2B partners. As the first UX Design hire in the company, he caught the bug of startup culture that still lights a fire within him to this day.

As the tides shifted, Mario charted his own course, adopting an agency-style model that led him through various projects—from a FinTech startup to a luxury smart oven and an eCommerce giant. After years of living in San Francisco and working from his studio in an industrial space on the fringes of town, Mario sought a change of scenery, putting down deeper roots in the Sierra Nevada mountains for a life closer to nature.

With a proven track record in designing digital tools, an active lifestyle and a love for photography, Mario inevitably found himself a role as a Senior UX Designer at GoPro. There, he thrived, working with the industry’s leading camera technology, exploring complex design ecosystems and pushing technological boundaries. For years he worked on software experiences for the company’s camera UX and helped nurture a culture of design thinking within a small but mighty brain trust of problem solvers. Now, he looks toward the next wave of disruption, envisioning a future shaped by automation, rapid computing and personalized tools that enhance everyday life.

A storyteller at heart, Mario enjoys a life adventure, photographing moments from his travels around the world. He isn’t chasing vanity metrics—only patents. For him, homeostasis is achieved from his artist cabin along the clear waters of Lake Tahoe, where he hikes, snowboards, strums guitars and reflects on the human experience.