Born in Honduras, the 17th of 18 children, Mencia quickly developed a barbed vocal inflection to defend himself against his older siblings. After moving to Los Angeles, Mencia continued to develop his harsh criticisms of the world at large, oftentimes finding that his words would get him into trouble. After studying engineering at California State University, Los Angeles for a period, he would ultimately drop out to pursue a career in stand up comedy. At hit on the Los Angeles scene, Mencia would ultimately gain international fame for his material and TV show that appeared on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2008.