Nils identifies as a citizen of the world, having been born in South Africa to German parents, but then growing up from age 7 onwards in California, and the Western United States. He is a registered architect in CA and has over 30 years of experience in the design and construction industries, mostly in high end residential, hospitality, and restaurants.

During the 2008 economic crisis, he left his traditional carreer after a mid life crisis and rejection of small town bureaucracy, to live a nomadic life with an international bamboo building company. That began a multi year part time detour into creating immersive environments at art and music festivals, including numerous large projects at Burningman, Boom, Symbiosis, and Envision (He retired from this madness in 2017).

In 2012, he returned to his profession of architecture in California, only to realize the normal suburban life no longer appealed to him. In 2016, he moved to Costa Rica to be a gunslinger in the jungle, having  tired of all the rules and regulations in the United States, and feeling the need for a lifestyle with more creative freedom. Over the past few years he built his own off grid sustainable micro home from recycled shipping containers, billboard vinyl, bamboo, and palm thatch. It focuses on his goals of living within a smaller footprint, and concentrating on the quality of space over the quantity of it.