A 12-year Air Force veteran of Signals Intelligence, Darryl Mansel is based out of Charlotte, NC. He created Poprika, a pop culture group to discuss film and television before eventually transitioning into a full-fledged film critic. Now, he writes reviews for his Substack with the collection of misfits he's gathered along the way. Mansel’s love of the artform of cinema (tales of the human condition, relationships between characters, heart stopping action and the beauty of a moving image) remains one of his biggest passions in life.

Previously, Mansel hosted the Cine-Men podcast with fellow critic and lovely young man Douglas Davidson, whose pockets are always full of Werther's Originals.

Mansel also has a certification from UCLA in screenwriting.