Multiple sources report that rally driver and automotive superstar Ken Block died in a snowmobile accident on Jan. 2. The Gymkhana pioneer and Hoonigan co-founder was 55.
“It’s with our deepest regrets that we can confirm that Ken Block passed away in a snowmobile accident today,” said Hoonigan on its official Instagram account. “Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed.”
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The cause of the accident was confirmed by the Wasatch County Sheriff Department in a Facebook post:
On January 2, 2023 at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Wasatch County 911 Center received a call reporting a snowmobile accident in the Mill Hollow area.
Search and Rescue, along with law enforcement from Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, Utah State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service responded.The driver, Kenneth Block, 55-year-old male out of Park City, Utah, was riding a snowmobile on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended, landing on top of him. He was pronounced deceased at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident.
Mr. Block was riding with a group but was alone when the accident occurred.
This matches with posts on Block’s own Instagram account, which included stories referencing a ride in CanAm snowmobiles on January 2nd. His last post, however, was about an ongoing project with his 16-year old Lia.
From winning Rally America’s Rookie of the Year award in his inaugural 2005 rally season to breaking new ground in internet car culture with his Gymkhana series of videos, Block was one of the most influential drivers of the 21st century. Not only did he bring a new American audience to rallying, he introduced an entire generation to the joys of oversteer and built the Hoonigan brand into the omnipresent force it is today.
Go to almost any car meet in American and you’ll probably find a car repping a Hoonigan sticker. The impact of Block’s work and ‘send it’ mentality is felt in every facet of the car community.
You wouldn’t necessarily expect the co-founder of a shoe company to be one of the leading faces of car culture, but Block’s company DC Shoes always maintained a focus on action and extreme sports, which plays nicely with the insanity of rallying. After all, a double-backflip on a BMX bike and going Mach Jesus through the woods both induce an adrenaline rush. After selling DC Shoes to Quiksilver in 2004, Block took on rallying with a Vermont SportsCar-prepped Subaru WRX STI in the 2005 Rally America season. With five top-five finishes and a podium in the Group A class in his first year, Block showed talent straight out of the gate.
From Rally America to the World Rally Championship to Global Rallycross, Block kept going fast on dirt, in the process bringing legions of fans to the sport. However, he probably isn’t best known for his rallying, but instead for igniting internet car culture with his Gymkhana series. While Gymkhana Practice in 2008 was a little bit lo-fi, things kicked off in a big way with 2009’s Gymkhana 2. In an era when online car videos often comprised of static shots, Block went big by going absolutely balls-out in a shipping yard, sliding his WRX STI wherever he could fit it. The video’s since racked up more than 53 million views and really set the stage for an incredible series of videos.
In addition to the unstoppable force of Gymkhana, Block appeared in the “Dirt” series of video games, on Top Gear, and in 2015’s “Need For Speed.” Plus, Block’s Hoonigan brand has become a sensation of its own, helping launch multiple talents. If it weren’t for Ken Block, car culture wouldn’t be where it is today. Social media networks have been flooded with tributes all evening from friends, colleagues, and admirers.
I’m speechless. Another legend gone entirely too soon. Ken Block was an incredibly huge inspiration to myself and so many others in the car community. He will definitely be missed. #RIP #KenBlock pic.twitter.com/ItNvzV4F9A
— Gavin Trace Simon (@itsjusta6_) January 3, 2023
DirtFish extends its deepest sympathies to Ken Block's family and friends. There are no words powerful enough to do justice to the pain so many are feeling from the impact of this snowmobiling accident, but the rally world is here, we stand with you, and we we aren’t moving. pic.twitter.com/RrtSbEBGlc
— DirtFish (@DirtFishRally) January 3, 2023
Ken Block was one of my first major interviews. I was 19 and nervous, but he showed me so much kindness and respect. I don’t think I’ve fretted an interview since (for better or worse).
I’ve seen a lot of stories about how Ken impacted us tonight, and I hope we never forget them
— Alanis King (@alanisnking) January 3, 2023
RIP Ken Block ????I will never forget this video of you drifting. Ever since than my love for cars and street performance has never stopped. pic.twitter.com/EubP5X9oFZ
— Calletano (@callo__Topete94) January 3, 2023
When I think of Ken Block I’ll choose to remember this photo. He was one of the first racers I ever saw support the LGBTQIA+ community. As a young ace scared of coming out, seeing one of my heroes open up as an ally meant the world to me. His light will never disappear. pic.twitter.com/SU5pQmhD3E
— Michael Klein (@michaelklein10a) January 3, 2023
This is heartbreaking. I was lucky enough to call @kblock43 a friend. He was truly a legend and inspiration to all of us at @Ford. pic.twitter.com/nVqZBM7mlX
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) January 3, 2023
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Block is survived by his wife, Lucy, and his three children.
My condolences to the Block family, and the world. Just introduced my daughter to this wizard, and showed her how he supported his own daughter in motorsports. Thank you for the jaw-dropping memories and helping my girl see that she can do anything.
Hoon in peace, Ken. I’ll always cherish the delight and awe your videos inspired.
Talk about a gut punch. Unbelievably sad news, I feel awful for his family. The only bright spot is it sounds like he went out doing something he loved rather than wasting away to some horrible disease.
RIP Ken, car enthusiasts shall forever hold your memory.
Up there with McRae now, this really isn’t a good start to the year.
God this sucks. Ken was an absolute legend and an amazing ambassador for enthusiast culture. He’ll be sorely missed.
It’s a sad day. I have been a fan of his since I was a teen in the late 90’s. It seems like a lot of my heros have been going lately.
I’m back to work, 7am, in my first meeting of the year, when I’ve just read this. I don’t know what my colleagues are talking about right now. I’m speechless. This is one of he more sad day’s I’ve had in a long time. RIP Ken. We loved you so much.
This is so sad. This guy was doing such an amazing work bringing car culture to a younger audience, and fighting misogyny and homophobia in car culture like few people do. He also seemed like an awesome dad. Heartbreaking. May the Hoonigan team keep his spirit and legacy alive going forward.
He truly made the world of cars more open for everybody. RIP.
Still in shock, it’s just so unbelievably sad to see someone who did so much good be gone like this. Just tragic. Yesterday I found myself thinking how he also low-key fought against unbridled competitiveness, and made a name for himself by just doing crazy fun stuff rather than trying to beat opponents. That led me to thinking how his passion also meant jobs for lots of incredible people who built sets, filmed, directed and edited footage, designers making liveries, etc. Rooting for all these people to be able keep Gymkhana alive as a celebration of his legacy.
That’s really too bad. Ugh.
Passing away while on vacation has to be the absolute worst way to go. RIP Ken.
Sad to hear this – RIP Ken
The world is a bit less fun now because of Ken’s passing.
Gymkhana came out when I was a film major in college, and man, it was such a huge influence. I didn’t stick with film work, but I absolutely stuck to sending it—whenever I could, however I could. I don’t get up and finish work to pay bills—I do it so I can maybe afford to jump a beater somewhere into the air for laughs in my spare time. It felt surreal to take over Hoon of the Day at Jalopnik for a while given that all I ever really wanted to do was hoon.
On top of that, man, Block was one of the few drivers you just never heard a bad word about. Just a genuinely nice guy, and it’s been a joy to watch him support his kid’s shenanigans lately.
RIP to the king of the hoons.
“Gymkhana came out when I was a film major in college”
The first time I saw him was on Top Gear when he scared the stuffing out of Captain Slow while hooning around an airfield in the desert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFF2bkiHNVQ
That video includes a visit from Ricky Carmichael and one of the best slo-mo multi-vehicle shots EVER.
Thank you for posting that! That was the first I saw of him as well.
And laughing at May’s “Mind the door!” was the perfect antidote for the mist from reading about him here
Oh, man. That segment was a complete joy. I loved seeing “Captain Slow” break that mold, too.
Wow. I don’t consider myself one to get upset over celebrity deaths, but this was obviously a car guy.
Hoon the heavens, Ken.
Wow… That is a gut-kick feeling – very sad news for car folks but infinitely more so for his family.
I don’t have any useful words.
Wow. I’m not one who usually pays attention to celebrity deaths, but this one…it’s a loss of a legend.
Fuck. This sucks. He just seemed like such a good guy. I feel for his family. He’ll be missed by his loved ones and his fans. Rest in power Ken Block.
Losing ambassadors to sport is always a major blow, but to have someone who was as universally respected and liked as him go out in this fashion is really a heavy toll on enthusaism in general.
Oh my God, this is awful! Truly devastating news. I was just reading about the Audi Quattro project his daughter is doing. He was a force to be reckoned with and will be sorely missed.
Oh man…. that sucks. What a way to start a new year.
As a big fan of his vehicle builds, I find this news to be terrible…
2023 is off to a pretty horrible start.
I knew 2020 would be f**ked when Neil Peart of Rush immediately does of brain cancer to kick off the year. Here’s hoping this isn’t a similar omen.
Immediately DIED, that is.
I was told there would be an edit function.
The kind of edit button we really need is not in The Autopian’s power to provide, unfortunately.
That is the most on-point sentence I have read this year-sadly so.
I continue to think that, strategically, making the comment section as ENGAGING as possible is thw single most important thing this site needs right now in order to drive engagement in order to attract sponsors, ad revenue, search engine hits, and of all the other things that make a site successful. If I were running this site I would be working on this all day, every day, with every dollar I had.
Believe me, we want you all to have edit buttons, image posting, and a bunch of other features! Alas, we aren’t the developers of our own site, so features roll out when they are ready.
…Besides, I’m so far removed from the tech world that I’m pretty sure any code I’d write would instantly turn this place into Disqus with the reliability of Kinja. lol
Very much appreciated Mercedes, thanks so much for answering. You guys know where you are better than I.
But I’m an organizational strategist now, and more importantly I was a commercial photographer for a long time. There are many, many photographers who print up business cards and then think the quality of their art will speak for itself, bringing in the cash. We call these people hobbyists. They don’t make enough money to stay in business, as opposed to the people who realize that they are, first, in business.
Yoy all are crushing it on the art side, I love so much of what you publish. I only want you to do at least as well on the business side.
Yeah, yeah, I know: when you’ve got a sub-Vinyl level, sans sticker and shirt, I’m in.
Update: I put my money where my mouth is.
I first heard this about an hour ago while watching Monday Night Football and everyone gathered around Damar Hamlin as medical professionals tended to him as he was eventually transported to a hospital. Combine that with the fact that right before MNF I learned an old classmate in high school lost one of her daughters in a car accident. Screw this night. I’m going to bed. Everybody hug your loved ones.
This one is going to hurt for a while. Ken’s Instagram, along with that of Lia and his wife, Lucy, all have Stories (live for 24 hours) about being pumped to be out in the snow today, as recent as 8ish hours (as of writing). It’s strange knowing there’s not going to be another update from Ken, and how their day ended. I hope the best for his family and friends. The whole hobby is going to be feeling this one.
:O
Holy wow