"I've been experimenting with art since I was a young boy, from the alleyways to the cheap cardboard and all these things," said artist David Velasquez, also known as Big Sleeps.
Velasquez is a world-renowned artist, but it wasn't always that way.
"Art was something that I picked up as a young boy. Pico-Union has always been very influential when it came to graffiti and art and break dancing and all that stuff," Velasquez said.
His passion led him to a career in tattoo art. He even has his own ink, marker and pen line, along with over 280,000 followers on Instagram.
You may recognize some of his artworks across L.A., from murals to the Crypto.com Arena, and even the Natural History Museum.
While the artist Big Sleeps' work is alive and well, he himself is living on borrowed time.
"Today, you know, as we sit here, I'm battling end-stage kidney disease," Velasquez said.
He was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in 2022, and his prognosis quickly got worse.
"My kidneys are down to like, I believe they hit 7% function. If I wouldn't have gone on dialysis, my timeline probably would be very short," Velasquez said.
Now, Big Sleeps needs a donor.
"Not only am I looking for a donor to help myself, but I do want to be a voice of that. You know, because I do have a big platform, possibly want to help my Latino community and other people that are in need... looking for a donor," he said.
Instead of suffering in silence, Velasquez decided to share his condition with his followers.
"CKD starts off from maybe uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure. I mean, I just want to put that out there to all, you know, all my community, because I know a lot of us don't know about it, or we tend to think that we're OK, you know? And it's something that sneaks up on you," he said.
Until he can find a match for a kidney donation, Velasquez is living with perspective.
"The way I'm seeing life is like, every second counts. Like, don't take any day for granted. Every second counts," Velasquez said.
Loved ones set up a GoFundMe page to help fund his dialysis treatment as he waits for a donor.
If you would like to try and be a match for Big Sleeps, you're asked to email: findsleepsakidney@gmail.com.