Born in the Philippines, Mark Labella grew up between two different worlds of Cebu City and San Diego, California. His passion for storytelling began at a young age. As an only child who always knew he was "different," he filled the time writing. He never believed he had the skills to become a writer until his family immigrated to the United States, and he attended his first year in a San Diegan Catholic school. His middle school teacher gave him some tough love because she would not accept his writing assignments when he did not give his best work. 

He also began acting in school musicals at the age of 7 despite his parents being in the medical industry, did not encourage such artistic endeavors. At the end of his sophomore year of high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy's DEP Program (Delayed Enlisted Program) after 9/11. Despite his role as student body president, the top ten of his class, his involvement in numerous leadership activities in school, and despite the encouragement of his Principal to get an education first, he left for boot camp almost immediately after high school graduation.

He served in the military as a Hospital Corpsman for five years while achieving a degree in Laboratory Technology from George Washington University. After the Navy, he used his G.I. Bill to finish his education at one of the Philippine's top medical universities: Cebu Doctor's University. He received degrees Bachelor's of Science in Medical Technology and Medical Doctorate. After med-school graduation, he moved to Chicago to attend Kaplan University's USMLE Prep Program. It was in Chicago, however, that Labella rekindled his passion for filmmaking...

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While preparing for the medical boards, Mark also studied filmmaking and all its aspects, especially screenwriting, directing, producing, and acting. It was not until he realized that to tell the stories he wanted to tell, he had to learn to produce his own material.