Nico Gous grew up in Stellenbosch, in the heart of the South African Winelands, where he spent most of his early life outside cycling and playing sports. But when he was at home, he was found behind the computer tweaking its settings, playing video games, or watching movies.

Ever since he was young, he loved history and geography. He then applied for a bachelor’s degree in Film History, Media Studies and English Literature at the University of Cape Town, before specializing in journalism at Stellenbosch University.

He gained professional experience as a journalist, photographer, editor and web-editor at various media companies in South Africa. His professional experience and search for a new challenge led him to applying and completing the Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University in 2021.

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During this time he also completed internships at various media houses in South Africa, and won the outstanding thesis award for his journalism portfolio.