Mason Haynes, a veteran celebrity bodyguard who spent years providing close protection to the Kardashian-Jenner family and other high-profile clients, has died following a motorcycle accident. He was 52.

Haynes died on July 4, according to a GoFundMe campaign organized on behalf of his family, just two days before what would have been his 53rd birthday. His death was confirmed through the fundraiser and through tributes shared by his employer and loved ones in the days that followed.

“Two days before what would have been his 53rd birthday, Mason’s life was taken far too soon in a tragic road traffic accident,” the fundraiser’s description read. “He leaves behind his devoted wife Fay, his daughter Brooke, his son Noah, a loving family, and an extraordinary circle of friends spread across the world.”

The campaign, which aims to help cover memorial costs and ease the financial strain on his family during their grief, described Haynes in warm terms as someone whose presence extended well beyond his professional role. “Some people pass through life. Others leave a mark on everyone they meet,” the fundraiser stated. “Mason Haynes was one of those rare, exceptional people.” It went on to call him “a man who made people feel welcome from the moment they met him,” someone “who would cross countries to help a friend,” and “who never let a loved one down and who saw the deep qualities in people that others often overlooked.” The tribute added that he was remembered as “a protector,” “a mentor” and “a prankster,” calling him “a giant in every sense of the word, with an even bigger heart.”

Haynes’ employer, Trojan Security UK, also paid tribute to him on Instagram on July 6, sharing a photo of him alongside Kris Jenner. “We would like to pay homage to an absolute legend in the Close Protection game,” the company wrote. “Big Mason. Gone too soon. Rest easy and fly high Brother.”

Haynes built a decades-long career in the close protection industry after deciding to work in security full-time following college. Speaking to London Now in a 2018 interview, he traced the origins of his path in the field back to his early adulthood, when he needed work to help pay for his education. “I then found a full-time job in Scorpion Security, who were the security company hired by Café De Paris in London, among others,” he said. “Because there were a number of celebrity patrons, I started doing what you might call ‘close protection,’ which became permanent contracts with several celebrities.”

The Kardashian-Jenner family became among his earliest and most prominent clients. “Initially, I worked with the Kardashian family, namely Kim, Kris, Kendall and Kanye too,” Haynes told the outlet. His client list eventually expanded well beyond the family, and he went on to provide security for comedian Kevin Hart, singer Charlie Puth, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and rapper Nicki Minaj. “Additionally, I was one of Kevin Hart’s bodyguards,” he said. “Currently I’m Charlie Puth’s personal protection, as well as Lewis Hamilton’s, and recently went to Dubai with him and Nicki Minaj.”

Haynes’ work with the Kardashian family placed him at the center of one of its most harrowing episodes. He was part of the security detail protecting Kim Kardashian during her armed robbery in Paris in October 2016, an incident that drew international headlines and prompted the family to significantly overhaul its approach to security in the years that followed. Asked in the 2018 interview whether any job had ever left him injured, Haynes pointed to that night. “Most prominently you’d have to talk about the Paris robbery on Kim Kardashian,” he said, before adding, “although I can’t go into much detail about that, I was part of that team, and that incident was simply a set of unfortunate circumstances which led to something bad happening.”

Beyond his work protecting celebrities, Haynes was also known for founding Bodyguards Against Bullying, an international personal-safety initiative aimed at extending some of the awareness and protective instincts of his profession into broader public life.

Tributes to Haynes have continued to circulate in the days since news of his death became public, with friends, colleagues and members of the entertainment security community remembering him as a steady, deeply trusted presence who worked behind the scenes for some of the most photographed families in the world while maintaining close, lasting relationships with the people he protected. Photos shared alongside the tributes, including images of Haynes with Kris Jenner at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in 2015 and with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West earlier in his career, reflected the length and closeness of his ties to the family.

The GoFundMe campaign remains active as Haynes’ family works through funeral arrangements and the broader financial and emotional toll of his sudden death. Organizers have framed the fundraiser as an effort to give Haynes “the send-off he truly deserves” while easing what they described as the immediate financial pressures that often follow a sudden and devastating loss.

Haynes is survived by his wife, Fay, and his two children, Brooke and Noah. Friends and colleagues from across the entertainment and personal security industries have continued to share memories of him in the days following his death, describing a man whose reputation in the close protection field was matched by the personal loyalty he showed to the people in his life, both on and off the job.