Marcus grew up in Yadkinville, North Carolina, and started working in radio during his junior year of college. He moved to television his senior year, as an intern and production assistant for WXII-TV in Winston-Salem. Marcus graduated from Appalachian State University in 1990 and completed his degree in Meteorology at North Carolina State in 1993. His first fulltime weather job was with WMBD-TV in Peoria, Illinois, followed by several years at WJHL-TV in the Tri-Cities. He joined the staff of WCYB in the fall of 2003, working weekends, and moved to the morning newscast with Johnny Wood in 2008.