In 1980s he first went to West Germany, from where he started smuggling dollars, cars and other goods unavailable in communist-controlled Poland.
As one of its leaders, Kolikowski started investing in legal ventures: record labels, restaurants, discos and such.
He is also often credited as the person behind the popularity of "disco polo" music genre, promoted by the labels he owned or sponsored.
About that time his group divided and one of the off-springs gained notoriety under the command of Marek Czarnecki (Rympałek).
In addition, one of the off-springs created after the arrest of the initial chiefs of the Pruszków group - dubbed the Wołomin mafia - gained much influence.