Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 1964, Nikko discovered a love of learning at a young age but much disliked compulsory education. He found ways to satisfy one while escaping the other, obtained his green beret as a conscripted soldier in 1983, and after completing extended military service, he set out to explore the world. His wanderings through both the upper and underworlds of four continents eventually led him to Spain, where, out of curiosity, he attended a corrida. Horrified, he fled to Morocco, where he lived for several months under the care of two hashish-cultivating brothers. A future in the drug trade seemed logical, but Nikko returned to Spain to investigate whether the horror that had driven him to Morocco had been justified. He found work as a farmhand on a ranch that breeds toros bravos, and after two years, he decided to deepen his investigation into el mundo taurino by attempting to become a matador. Against all odds, Nikko succeeded, but his career in Spanish arenas came to an end when, in 2006, the Dutch armed forces summoned him to serve in Afghanistan.

No Dutch soldier served longer in Afghanistan, lived through more adventures there, or left more footprints in the Afghan dasht. But the horror that had once made Nikko flee a Spanish arena paled in comparison to the horror stirred in him by the actions of the Dutch armed forces in Afghanistan. He fought in vain for a more sincere modus operandi, and in 2009, he offered the armed forces his resignation. Nikko threw himself back into his wanderings and surrendered to his passion: writing—his genre the autobiographical picaresque novel.

Nikko's books Immaculate Perception and Unpredictable Past sparked considerable discussion, and in The Caveman Code he makes a case for a healthy lifestyle. Fight, Flight, or Freeze calls for awareness and perspective, a must-read for anyone who takes life’s seriousness with a grain of salt but doesn’t shy away from critical reflection. Nikko's latest blogs can be found on this website.