Chris “Monk Dawg” Vasquez is probably the most famous mountain bike mechanic on the planet. He’s spannered for the like of Jill Kintner, Brian Lopes and Aaron Gwin and was renowned as a warm presence in the World Cup pits.

Unfortunately he has fallen on hard times and has turned to GoFundMe to help him out. Monk Dawg is hoping to crowdfund $10,000 after a nasty infection has left him hospitalised with no secure income.

>>> Bad news update: R.I.P. Chris “Monk Dawg” Vasquez 1970-2016

His GoFundMe page says: “He would give the shirt off his back to help out his friends and family and right about now is when he could actually use a little help from his friends!

“Deteriorating health has landed him in the hospital more times than we can count, generating a mountain of medical bills with no secure income for himself. He is currently in Victor Valley Global Medical Center in Victorville, CA awaiting surgery for a threathing infection and moving forward he has a long battle to get his health back to good working condition.”

In just 9 hours over $8,000 has been raised with many professional mountain bikers rushing to his care including donations of $200 from Jill Kintner and Anneke Beerten, $150 from Hans Rey, $100 from Steve Peat, Intense bikes and Mick Hannah and $30 from Danny Hart.

We wish Monk Dawg all the best in his future recovery  and hope his crowdfunding campaign is completed soon. If you wish to donate you can do so here.