Nicholas William Truter was born on the 7 th September 1977 to a traveling family with a military background. Early years were spent traveling across Europe and Asia, until the Truter family finally settled in Crawley , just South of London in the early 1980's.  With both parents in the medical profession, family life was stable and a young Nicky T was a keen participant in many academic activities, choosing to shy away from the more physical aspects of sporting activities.

At the age of 12, a school friend decided to have a birthday party held at a local paintball site in Dorking, Surrey , called Camelot Leisure. Nicky was invited along, and from the first moment he turned up, knew that his life was about to change, and swiftly became embraced by every single aspect and emotion that paintball had to offer. The uniqueness of the sport allowed Nicky to excel, partially due to the fact that brilliance wasn't solely reliant on physical attributes, but also due to the fact that his active mind was able to outthink and consequently out-flank his opponents, translating into wins for whatever side he was on.

Roughly twelve months passed before the group of friends had a chance to try paintball for a second time, but all of them put that time to good use, finding whatever means they could of raising the necessary funds to fully enjoy their next bite of the paintball cherry! During that time, all that the young paintballers could talk about was their first experience at Camelot and what there plans were for each of the scenarios they would be presented with when they visited again. Word soon got round that there was the prospect of another paintballing trip, but as so often is the case, no one was willing to do the leg work and organize the booking so that everyone could enjoy themselves. Determined not to miss out on the opportunity of enjoying his newfound hobby, Nicky opted to take over the reigns and wasted no time getting in contact with the site owners and organizing the first of many paintballing outings for his friends and family. The arrangement worked well, as the effort and time expended in arrange things translated into reduced entry fees and free paint for the young ‘baller, making paintball a much more affordable option (especially where concerned parents were occurred).

The next three years were taken up with the rigors of finishing the necessary school exams, whilst trying to fit in as many paintballing excursions as possible. Paintball magazines were slowly becoming more widespread and regular visits to the local newsagents to obtain the latest copy of the now defunct Paintball Adventures or Paintball Games International soon became a regular fixture in his monthly calendar. All of the sports top players were featured regularly in the magazines and the stars that Nicky idolized included Pete “Robbo” Robinson (Nam Wreckin' Crew), Dave Spittle (Predators), Darren Braybrook (Short Timers) and of course Darren Docherty (Turks).

Paintball remained a key element of Nicky's life despite the constraints of school studies, social life and eventually work, and soon a whole host of established teams were keen to recruit the youngsters' potential talent. The first proper team that Nicky joined was Crawley based Total Respray. Comprised entirely of individuals from the South of England the main priority of Total Respray was to enjoy the paintball that they played, regardless of the results that they attained. Nicky stayed with Total Respray for an entire season, but eventually his desire to succeed outgrew the team, and a certain Mark “Twizzle” Dale was able to lure him away to another local team – the Mayhem Tigers Young Guns, for the start of the 1994/5 season.

With a st ron g Pro squad contending with the likes of the Predators, Shades of Grey and the Nam Wrecking Crew, the Mayhem Tigers offered ample opportunity for the progression of Nicky's paintball career, with the highlight being successive trips to the Paintball World Cup in Orlando in 1996 and 1997. Unfortunately for the Tigers, paintball politics and a prevalent “old-school” mentality prevented Nicky from ever breaking into the Tigers mainstream first team and retaining a place on the roster. Everything happens for a reason though, and in hindsight this probably opened the doors to many more opportunities throughout Nicky's paintball career than it closed, something that I am certain he doesn't regret for a second.

The next stop on Nicky's path to success was another promising young gun team called Gauntlet. Gauntlet thrived in the Home Counties Paintball League, a regional tournament series in the United Kingdom , and Nicky soon became an integral part of their first team and consequently their success. Gauntlet hosted many unique personalities, all of which had a significant affect of Nicky's game, probably the most memorable of which was Figgy, a close friend for many years to come regardless of whatever teams the two friends were playing on. Gauntlet came close to glory at probably the most prestigious paintball tournament of the time, the Mayhem Masters, but seemed to be missing that final ingredient to get them to the top. Eventually the frustration of repeatedly coming so close, so many times, became too much and Nicky started to look elsewhere for future paintball glory.

At the same time that Gauntlet were beginning to fall off the paintball scene, due to members being poached by other local Pro teams such as the Kuttin Krew, another young UK Amateur team was beginning to make a name for themselves; The Rushers. The Rushers didn't have a point to prove to anyone, and simply started as a site team for Pure Rush Paintball in Ashford , Kent . Two of the original team members Pete Martin and Dave Hall were running the site at the time, and together with some of their more loyal customers decided to form a tournament paintball team, aptly called the Rushers. Many players wanted to jump on the Rushers bandwagon as they were the hot up and coming prospects of their time, but not many could provide the commitment and dedication to be a valued member of the team. At the time the Rushers were sponsored by Smart Parts, shooting the then new Shocker 4x4 Turbos with great success. Nicky had just joined the staff of Smart Parts Europe, so getting a try-out for the Rushers wasn't a problem at all. Needless to say Nicky made the grade and swiftly became a very valued member of the Rushers competing on the International paintball scene in the Millennium Series events throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's with the Rushers. The Rushers completely dominated the English Amateur paintball circuit for their entire existence and many of their players, including Nicky, were approached by the country's top professional teams. Nicky was always eager to play whenever he had a free weekend, and was lucky enough to play for the Predators scratch team, Amalgamation, with the likes of Dave Spittle, on several occasions. As Nicky became more and more internationally well known due to his successes on the Rushers, the offers came flooding in from Pro teams eager to recruit the youngsters' mercurial talents. Shockwave UK were always on the lookout for new talent, and Nicky came to an agreement whereby he was able to play for Shockwave whenever he wasn't playing or training with the Rushers. This made Nicky's schedule hectic to say the least, and he fondly recalls playing a staggering 47 weekends, usually in the company of Rushers team mate Mark Toye, in one year, really living every paintballers dream! Of course all of this exposure did no harm to Nicky's career in the paintball industry and his customer base at Smart Parts Europe swelled almost as much as his trophy cabinet J

The Rushers had tremendous success in Europe with no less than eleven top three finishing positions throughout their three Millennium Series Amateur seasons, culminating in a 1 st place finish in Sweden in 2002 and the runners up position at the Campaign Cup in the same year – the final major event in the Rushers history. Tension was mounting in the Rushers camp will tremendous pressure for the team to turn Professional. Many of the players were ready and willing to commit, but they had to support themselves as the level of sponsorship that the team commanded wasn't sufficient to facilitate a Pro paintball teams' schedule. Eventually the pressure grew too great and the Rushers reluctantly disbanded. I ron ically all 7 of the members of the 2002 Rushers squad were playing Pro Paintball for various teams throughout 2003, proving that the Rushers had always had the talent required to compete at the highest level.

In the Spring of 2002, Pete “Robbo” Robinson was presented with the opportunity to coach and form an England team for a new paintball format called X-ball. Robbo immediately began recruiting the players that he wanted, having the pick of any player in England , focusing on raw talent regardless of the level at which the lucky candidates were playing. Nicky, who was guesting for Imperial at the time in Germanys Max Masters, was playing against Danish team the Icemen. Robbo happened to be in the crowd watching proceedings, and saw the Icemen systematically destroy Imperial until five Icemen were left battling against a solitary Imperial player – Nicky. Nicky who didn't even know that the England coach was there, let alone watching him as a potential candidate for the England team, was content playing his game, and turned a potentially desolate scenario around to eliminate the five remaining Icemen and hang the flag to take the win for Imperial, a feat that did not go unnoticed by Mr. Robinson.

Nicky remembers the moment that Robbo told him he was in as though it was yesterday; walking off the field Robbo passed him a simply said, “keep August free, you're going to Pittsburgh”. This was the first time that Nicky even remembers Robbo speaking to him, not a bad start to their relationship, one that is still going st ron g to this very day. At the same tournament, Mark Toye and Jamie Abbott were also recruited to the England team, and the foundations were beginning to set to change the shape of English paintball forever.

The worlds first ever X-ball tournament was held in Pittsburgh in the August of 2002 at the International Amateur Open, and although the England team didn't meet their expectations, losing to both Germany and the infamous Russian team, the players and coaches enjoyed the experience and camaraderie so much that they didn't wish the feeling to end. The squad of 10 players and 3 coaches were each given the opportunity to leave their existing teams and form a new super team – the likes of which has never been seen. Only two of the players declined, and Ledz of the Banzai Bandits who was a coach in Pittsburgh joined the new team as a player, making the hard decision to leave the Banzai Bandits along with fellow team mate Jack Wood.

This new opportunity paved the way for the end of the Rushers, as three of the Rusher first team including Nicky, took the leap of faith and also made the decision to join Robbos' new team, the team that would later be known by everyone as Nexus. With a roster comprised of only two “traditional” Professional players in Ledz and Jack, Robbo had the unique opportunity to mold the team and the players as he saw fit, a contributing factor to the meteoric rise and success of Nexus.

Nexus presented a conflict of interests for Nicky working at Smart Parts Europe and playing for a team supported by mainline sponsors such as Eclipse and Dye. His employers recognized that the situation was less than ideal for them and soon Nicky was presented with the choice of either working for Smart Parts or playing for Nexus. Needless to say Nicky wasn't one to be held back by anyone, and swiftly made the decision to play for the best team in the country rather than be held to ransom, and was content to shop around for future employment, deciding to leave SPE in the very same week that he was offered that difficult choice. Nicky had always dreamed of playing for a team that shared the dedication, drive and determination that he displayed for paintball, and found solace within the Nexus squad that every single player shared the same dream.

Nicky soon began working at Planet Eclipse, largely due to the fact that Ledz knew Nicky's predicament and was willing to do anything he could to help him get back on his feet. With the rise of the Eblade frame for the Autococker, work was never short at Eclipse and the weekly trip up to Manchester soon became part of Nicky's routine. Nicky evidently fitted in with the Eclipse mentality and swiftly established himself as a permanent member of staff, handling responsibility for Eclipses worldwide Customer Service and Technical Support; a position that he still enjoys today,  and one that constantly sustains his love for the sport that has offered him so many rewarding experiences.

On the field, 2003 was Nexus' opening season, and after a rough introduction to the world of Professional Paintball at the NPPLs Huntington Beach, the teams resolve strengthened and the results took an about turn culminating in a 6 th place finish at the Las Vegas event and a staggering 4 th Place finish at the Campaign Cup, finishing the season as the 7 th place ranked team in the 2003 NPPL Pro Rankings. Nicky was a key factor in the teams' success and could often be found left on the field against various opponents defending his and the teams honor and flag; usually with very favorable results. Nicky played in the back corners, drawing on his years of experience of more forward aggressive positions, always giving himself with ample opportunities to make a lasting impression on the outcome of each and every game. Without a doubt Nicky features in the top percentile of back players ever to play the game and is one of the players that Robbo would choose to be left on the field if things ever weren't going to plan.

Nexus' 2004 season didn't go to plan, but in hindsight was a tremendous learning experience for everyone concerned. With that in mind their 2005 season has always started positively with a 7 th place finish at Huntington Beach and a 2 nd Place finish at the Max Masters Millennium Series event; both results in the company of many of the worlds greatest paintball teams.

Nexus plays host to many great players, all of whom provided an excellent platform for Nicky to showcase his unique talents. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and at the close of the 2005 season, several key members of the original Nexus unit were released from the team to fulfill their own destinies and Nicky T was one of these players. 2006 heralds the dawn of many new and exciting challenges for Nicky T, and he is set to become even more of a household name in the following years.

Nicky T is probably one of the most well known personalities on the European paintball circuit and is one of the most approachable individuals that the game has to offer, always willing to spend him with any up and coming players or individuals who even show a hint of interest in him, the team that he is playing for, the products that he endorses or the company that he works for. To check out more of Nicky T and his latest exploits explore the rest of   www.nicktruter.com

Thanks,

Nicky T.