Marcus "Nacho" Rivera

Marcus Rivera grew up in a household where snack time was sacred. His father, a truck driver who crisscrossed the American Southwest, had a habit of bringing home regional chip flavors that weren't available at their local grocery store in San Antonio. That early exposure to the wide world of Doritos planted a seed that never stopped growing.

After studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, Marcus spent several years writing about food culture for regional publications before discovering that his true passion lay at the intersection of snack food and storytelling. He has since traveled to Japan, Mexico, the UK, Australia, and across Europe specifically to taste and document international Dorito flavors — a pursuit his friends call obsessive and he calls "research."

Marcus brings a journalist's rigor and a fan's enthusiasm to every piece he writes. He believes that snack food is one of the most honest windows into a culture's tastes, economics, and identity — and that Doritos, in particular, tell a uniquely American story that deserves to be taken seriously.

When he's not writing, Marcus hosts a monthly backyard nacho competition in his Austin neighborhood, judges local salsa contests, and maintains a personal archive of over 200 Dorito bags from around the world. He has yet to win his own nacho competition. His wife has won four times.