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Friends intervene in Martyn Ashton’s road to recovery… in the best way possible

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0 Martyn Ashton - Rehab
Photo c. Martyn Ashton

There is no question that most who have seen it, have enjoyed Martyn Ashton’s Road Bike Party video series. As much as we wish they didn’t happen, injuries are often a price we pay when riding at the razor’s edge… some far more serious than others. Martyn had a life-changing injury in 2013 dislocating his T9 and T10 vertebrae leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Though the moral support has been extraordinary, the financial burdens are building up fast as even the best insurance policies don’t cover much past the initial “treatment”.

Like any responsible person, if you need money, you consider selling anything from stocks to baked goods, even personal items like bikes. Martyn decided to sell his coveted Conalgo C59 road bike that he, Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg rode in the film Road Bike Party 2 in order to pay for additional therapy, (expensive) home modifications, and exercise equipment. His facebook friends called BS on this idea and talked him into putting up a GoFundMe page instead. To say Martyn has his fan’s support is an understatement by the looks of this fundraiser that is only 2 days old.

Cheers to Martyn, his family & friends….. and especially his supporters, from the Bikerumor family. Click past the break after hitting Martyn’s GoFundMe page to read a note from Martyn and watch Road Bike Party 2…. again!

Martyn, Chris Akrigg, and Danny MacAskill come together for what would be one of the best collaborations in cycling in Road Bike Party 2.

From Martyn:

“My name is Martyn and I was a Professional Mountain Bike rider for over 20 years until I suffered a life changing Spinal Cord Injury in 2013.
I’m a positive person and still very much enjoy life to the full. I remain very pro-active with my personal fitness and want to be able to maintain that healthy lifestyle into the coming years.
I’ve set this page up in response to a post I placed on my Facebook page , where I asked if anyone would be interested in buying my C59 Colnago road bike, the sale of which could help towards funding physiotherapy, house mods and adapted gym equipment.
Sounds simple eh?
The Colnago bike in question was used by Myself, Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg in the film Road Bike Party 2 (which you can watch below).
My fantastic friends on Facebook really, really want me to keep the bike, but still be able to plan my rehab and physio in 2016. The general conscensous was I should set this page up instead. So here it is guys 😉
I’m very grateful for all the incredible support I receive each and everyday. Thank you all for that, you are awesome”.

Martyn’s GoFundMe page

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Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago

So great that he’s been able to get help but I hate to think that his sponsors wouldn’t be doing this since he got hurt on the job.

skip
skip
8 years ago

It seems like in cases like these, the sponsors still have the opportunity to step in and be the good guys, but instead they quietly sit back, take heat, and let their athletes deal with lifelong debilitating injuries by themselves.
Red Bull, Go Pro, Pinarello, Colnago, Shimano, GCN, These guys have money, right?
But Paul and Martin are down for the count and we’re supposed to keep buying these goods without thinking about who put them there?
Wouldn’t it be nice if all attention was good attention?

David
David
8 years ago

@skip, I think in a way GCN stepped up. Martyn is regularly featured on their mountain bike channel GMBN

Aceraceae
Aceraceae
8 years ago

@David he is insanely talented that is why he is a host for GMBN, his sponsors should step up and offer a serious pension, an agreement between athletes and sponsors should include injuries that could last a lifetime.

Venge
Venge
8 years ago

America,home of the health insurance & land of the brave,’cause you really need to be brave to live in the USA without health insurance. I’m sorry for the guy.

TypeVertigo
8 years ago

@skip
Don’t count GCN in as a sponsor. They’re really a YouTube-based production outfit who need sponsors themselves to keep producing new content.

If you’ve been following the economics of producing premium content for YouTube, it’s gotten very hard for content creators since Google/YouTube stopped incentivizing such shows at the end of 2014. This “subsidy” was one of the big reasons why GCN and other outfits like /DRIVE were able to get started at the very beginning of 2013.

Nowadays you may have noticed most people on YouTube are resorting to Patreon or a paid subscription model (e.g. /DRIVE+) to fund their productions in the hope of continuing them.

Scotty
Scotty
8 years ago

@Venge WTF? #1 Martyn lives in Wales. #2, You can’t live in the US without insurance because Obamacare will fine you more money than an insurance policy cost.

Inchy
Inchy
8 years ago

I was lucky enough to watch all this incredible outpouring of support from the beginning, right after Martyn posted the advert selling the Colnago. So much so that my favourite new thing to do at the weekend was refresh his GoFundMe page every 5 minutes ant watch the total climb and climb. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of sponsors/employers etc stepping up, this has been something wonderful to be part of and has really made me feel part of a much wider community. Martyn himself has been inspiring people around the world for many years and continues to do so now. It felt like a privilege to be part of. Onwards to £50K!

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