In case you didn’t hear the news last night, Pro rally driver, DC shoes co-founder, Hoonigan co-founder, speed demon, drifting extraordinaire, LEGO-aficionado and all around good guy Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident. As the statement from Hoonigan said, “Ken was a visionary, a pioneer, and an icon. And most importantly, a father and a husband.” While we can’t speak to the father and husband aspect, having met the man we can absolutely confirm he was all of the things previously listed. There will most definitely be plenty of tributes to come, but in the meantime, we’re revisiting two of his most recent and influential pieces.
Go Fast Risk Every Thang: The Wild Story of Ken Block’s ’22 Rally Racing Title Chase which you can watch here (or through the linked video above) is the behind-the-scenes story of how the 2022 American Rally Association season went. As Brian Scotto (Hoonigan Co-Founder) describes (before he sits down in a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Chair no less), “When in doubt, flat out. Press on regardless. Go fast. Risk everything. These are terms you hear a lot in rally because rally is a very, very different type of motorsport.” It’s probably the best hour of content on YouTube right now–assuming you can’t handle getting rickrolled 19 times in a row.
The other piece is perhaps the one most of you are most familiar with–The Gymkhana Files–stylized as the_GYMHKANA_FILES. While most of the original The Gymkhana Files episodes were locked down on Amazon Prime Video as part of an eight-episode series [that we highly recommend you watch here], you can also catch most of the action on YouTube these days. Far more important than the platform you use to enjoy it is the fact that Block and his team of Hoonigans crushed Pike’s Peak, Detroit, France, Sweden, Texas and Mexico across a gorgeous eight-episode video arc that, honestly, is the really the tip of the iceberg of what this team was capable.
Whether climbing a mountain, drifting through a major city or battling the likes of Idris Elba in a TV show, Ken Block always managed to deliver incredible content that was as absolutely absurd and incredible as it was fun to watch with the entire family. You were a champion among men, and you will be missed.
