Nickolas is used to being on the away team. But he loves to silence a crowd. 

At competitions in Europe or South America, the audience roots for their home athletes. He starts each match as the American athlete — until the moment he fights.

“I love turning a crowd in my favor,” he said. 

He’s become known for his speed, kicks and a double-reverse spin-hook kick to the face, sometimes called the “CJ.” 

“I’m one of the athletes that’s bringing that excitement back to the game and doing stuff that people have never seen. So, it’s cool, I like it. I love it that I have my own style that is me,” he said. 

Nickolas plans to bring that energy to Paris, even after fracturing his forearm in May at the Pan American Championships.

Recovering from setbacks is nothing new to Nickolas. In 2020, he had corrective surgery for a heart condition.

Since breaking his arm, Nickolas has been training in a cast. He returned to fighting on a recent Olympic simulation day and learned again how far he can push.

“It takes going to that place, getting injured, getting hurt, and being in those situations, to learn how strong you are and how far you can push yourself and that’s the beauty,” he said. “That’s one of my favorite things, that I think that’s what keeps pulling me back to this sport in general, is being able to explore how far I can take myself as a human being.”

On YouTube, he posts clips of his high kicks paired with songs and vlogs about where he’s competing. In one clip, he does a split in practice before it flips to James Brown doing a split. In another, he does sandpit training to “Sun is Shining” by Bob Marley.

That merging of music and sport provides a window into what drives Nickolas as a person.

Music is one of the few things that can rival taekwondo in importance for him. His interest started when his aunt gave him an iPod Shuffle loaded with the music of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder when he was about 8. He was also inspired by her time on his church’s praise team.  

He’s since collected 300 records and counting from every place he’s visited, with plans to add more in Paris. It’s a passion and a creative outlet. He writes, sings and records music about his day-to-day struggles in life and training. 

“Music is the only other thing that I love as much as taekwondo in this life. There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t listened to music,” he said.