Mamin Kolyu was born on 20 March 1880 in Haskovo (then part of Eastern Rumelia) as revolutionary Tane Nikolov's older brother's son.

Upon his release he immediately headed to Macedonia and served as a revolutionary under Kosta Popeto, Ivan Naumov, Apostol Petkov and Ichko Gyupchev.

During the unrest at the time he joined Hristo Chernopeev's band to dethrone and capture Sultan Abdul Hamid II from Istanbul and take him to Thessaloniki.

From 1912 on, Mamin Kolyu was an under-voivode and flag bearer in his uncle Tane Nikolov's band and took part in the Balkan Wars, becoming an independent voivode.

After the liberation of Western Thrace (which was ceded to Bulgaria per the Treaty of Bucharest), Mamin Kolyu married in a village near Gyumyurdzhina (today Komotini, Greece).