Staff from WCG World, a communications firm based in San Francisco, had seen the man using bolt cutters to snip the lock off one of their bikes.
After the call went out around the office several worker ran outside to see if they could stop the man -- who was struggling to get away because of a high saddle.
Leading the charge was Kristen Bell, a creative associate who threw herself at the bike-riding crook and managed to knock him to the ground.
The would-be thief then scooped up his things which had been dropped during the scuffle and ran away… little did he know he'd become a YouTube star.
While some people have criticised the crook tacklers for not getting physical after they caught him, it was probably a good thing - when security staff caught up with him, he pulled a knife on them.