Final evening the automotive world discovered of the premature demise of Ken Block from a snowmobile accident. A person who discovered fame by way of the Web, Ken was not some “influencer” vulnerable to silly hijinks and statements however, fairly, a person who hopped into vehicles and danced the ballet. He and his crack video workforce confirmed us what we by no means imagined might be achieved with automotive and driver.

However for a lot of of you, you could not know who Ken Block is, even if you happen to’ve solely seen his movies. Whereas it pains us to indicate you who Ken was as a consequence of his demise, we do wish to present you ways he was a person of prospects.

Ken Block’s Youth
Ken was born within the fall of 1967 in Lengthy Seaside, California. Like many youngsters born within the Golden State, he picked up skateboarding, snowboarding and even motocross, changing into concerned (if not proficient sufficient) that Ken was concerned within the subcultures of his pursuits. He funneled that vitality and creativity within the creation of DC Sneakers in 1994 with two different co-founders. Perhaps you don’t know the model, nevertheless it’s attainable you recognize the emblem or the individuals who put on DC’s duds, which span from attire to luggage and equipment. In 2004, surf model Quicksilver purchased DC Sneakers for $87 million, giving Ken an infusion of money to pursue his subsequent stage in life.

Ken Block’s Hooniverse
Ken rapidly moved into his ardour of motorsports in 2005, racing Subarus and profitable Rally American Rookie of the Yr. In 2010, Ken co-founded each the Gymkhana Grid racing sequence and the Hoonigan model, the latter a medley of movies and clothes line the place he deemed himself Head Hoonigan in Cost. So, what’s a Hoonigan, apart of a pun of the phrase hoon and hooligan? “Hoon” is an Australian phrase for an individual who drives in an irresponsible method, usually in an try to be acknowledged by onlookers. That burn-out that used to burn out at each stoplight in 1976 might be thought-about a hoon of types, however a Hoonigan is a lot extra. The Hoonigan web site reveals this:

Please don’t consider Ken with contributing to “road takeover” morons who’ve been influenced by “Quick and the Livid” theatrics — that’s not what he was about. Merely put, Ken chased his ardour for motorsports. He would usually reference the heroic drivers of Group B rally like Walter Rohrl, Michelle Mouton and Colin McRae. It’s this ardour that developed into his personal model (private and in any other case) that got here to a head to tens of tens of millions around the globe because of movies like this.

It’s this ardour that’s admired by different drivers and has led to numerous options on TV reveals, movies video games, stunt occasions, an 11-year partnership with Ford plus partnerships with Subaru, Audi and others.

We had the pleasure of seeing Ken Block at SEMA 2022 and filming movies with the Hoonicorn, which is maybe probably the most iconic of his automobiles, having gone a number of iterations and appearances in Ken’s Gymkhana sequence. Says Jalopy Jeff, our compatriot in AutoHunter Cinema, “For me personally, I’m a part of a technology that grew up watching Ken Block’s stunts, following his racing profession and watching each Gymkhana video because it got here out, and changing into a Hoonigan fanatic — all partly to Ken Block. I feel it’s protected to say there are lots of automotive lovers that may attribute their curiosity in vehicles to Ken Block.”

And there you’ve gotten it, a modern-day automotive fanatic who raised the bar for our enjoyment has been prematurely taken from us.

To see extra of Ken Block’s movies, go to the Hoonigan YouTube web page.