Ken Block, Rally Car Driver and YouTube Viral ‘Gymkhana’ Sensation, Dies in Snowmobile Accident at 55
Ken Block, a pro rally driver who rose to internet fame with his astonishing “Gymkhana” stunt videos on YouTube, died Monday in a snowmobile accident in Utah. He was 55.
The death of Block, who lived in Park City, Utah, was confirmed in a statement released by his company, Hoonigan Racing.
“It’s with our deepest regrets that we can confirm Ken Block passed away in a snowmobile accident today,” the company’s statement Monday said. “Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed.”
On Jan. 2, at about 2 p.m., the Wasatch County 911 Center received a call reporting a snowmobile accident in the Mill Hollow area, according to a statement from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office. According to the statement, Block 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.” Block was riding with a group but was alone when the accident occurred, according to the Wasatch Country Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Hoonigan website, Block’s “Gymkhana” video series has generated well over 550 million views to date. He started the stunt-driving series “as a simple way for KB to hone his rally driving skills,” per the company. Gymkhanas, originally displays of equestrian skill, were adapted as motorsports events designed to test a driver’s ability to complete a closed course in the fastest time possible.
Block co-founded action sports footwear and apparel brand DC Shoes in 1994 with partner Damon Way. After selling the company in 2004, Block embarked on a career as a professional rally-car driver. In 2005, he was crowned the Rally America rookie of the year and finished second overall in 2006, 2008 and 2013. Block also won five medals at the X Games between 2006-13, and in 2010 was the first American to drive in the World Rally Championship.
Born in Long Beach, Calif., in 1967, Block later moved to Escondido with his family where he attended high school. “That ended up being a very big impact on my life because I grew up around what ended up being a lot of professional skateboarders and snowboarders and surfers, guys that I ended up knowing still today in this part of my life,” Block said in a 2019 interview with the Henry Ford museum.
About his legendary “Gymkhana Five” in San Francisco in 2012, which involved closing off the Bay Bridge and large sections of the city, Block said in the Henry Ford museum interview, “It really kind of set the bar so high at such a great level, and we were able to make one of the best films I think in the entire series because of what that city is, the landscape, the unique texture of it, the water, the bridges, the natural jumps that were there, some of the very cool twisty streets ’cause they’re, you know, trying to get a street up the steep slope, so it just really made it such a cool and unique thing all in itself.”
Block and his team uploaded his first Gymkhana video to YouTube in 2008, because it was costing too much in bandwidth fees after it went viral on their own website. “Today people just don’t understand, like, wow, that was a time when YouTube just — it was a new thing. It wasn’t the standard that it is today,” Block said in the Henry Ford interview.
Block is survived by his wife, Lucy, and their three children.
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