Nick was born in
Volendam, into a musical family which has produced other famous artists, such as
Anny Schilder. At the age of 8, he started to learn how to play the guitar. He met
Simon Keizer at school when they were 17 years old, at which point they began singing and writing songs together. Their first song was 'Do you know what I mean'. On New Year's Eve 2001, Nick was injured during the
Volendam New Year's fire disaster. He had to stay in the hospital for 23 days with lung problems. Afterward, to recover the doctors advised him to take singing lessons. After this, he participated in the second season of the Dutch version of
American Idol called
Idols where he finished in eleventh place.
Simon Keizer had been eliminated in the first round. After the show, Nick & Simon were contacted by their current record company: Volendam Music. Together, they have created such hits as "Rosanne", "Kijk Omhoog" and "Pak maar m'n hand", which is also the soundtrack of the film
De Scheepsjongens van de Bontekoe (2008). ==Personal life==