RIP Ken Block

[Jim Oaks]

Pro rally driver and Hoonigan co-founder Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident on Monday, Hoonigan and local authorities confirmed.

Block, a prolific figure in the car community, was 55 years old. A co-founder of DC shoes, he moved into the world of rally and quickly made a name for himself, developing the Hoonigan brand and creating the much-loved Gymkhana video series.

The first time I ever saw Ken Block drift was in the video below and thought 'holy crap, who is this guy?!"

It's hard to believe with all of his high speed rally driving he lost his life from a snowmobile accident.

 

[88workcar]

Yep, it sucks as with any unnatural death. But a snowmobile? Dam, I know they badass and all but come on... I think we all imagine him losing a tire at 120+mph and skidding off into a ravine or something but not a snowmobile .......

 

[bilbo]

That is sad news. Mountain sledding is no joke. For those who don't have snow and don't know much about it watch a couple Youtube videos. I have a couple of friends that do it and some of the stories they have are ridiculous. Basically they try to run up the steepest slopes and see who gets highest. If things go awry, well there are no gravity brakes and down you (and the sled, and maybe thousands of tons of snow) go.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Snowmobiles are suicide machines. The few ivr ridden you really have very little control over at any kind of speed.

Worse then 3 wheelers.

RIP

 

[Ranger850]

WOW, the first few days of the new year and a few Celebrity dearths already. Ken Block, Gangsta Boo, Barbara Walters, and one of the Pointer Sisters, all in one weekend. This is going to be one helluva year.

 

[bilbo]

Snowmobiles are suicide machines. The few ivr ridden you really have very little control over at any kind of speed.

Worse then 3 wheelers.

RIP

It's like anything, the rider needs to respect the capabilities of the machine and recognize its limits, and act accordingly. The last part is what most people have problems with. Modern snowmobiles can be 200+ horsepower and don't care where they're pointed when you pin that throttle or if you've got enough brakes to slow back down. And for whatever reason, alcohol and snowmobiling seem to have a close relationship, at least in the midwest where people mostly ride trails. That leads to a lot of issues.

 

[rumblecloud]

At the ad agency where I worked, we helped launch the Hoonigan brand and the Octane Academy. Got to go to a meet and greet once. Seemed like a "real" guy.
Sad and shocked to hear. He did some unreal things with Mustangs for Ford.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

It's like anything, the rider needs to respect the capabilities of the machine and recognize its limits, and act accordingly. The last part is what most people have problems with. Modern snowmobiles can be 200+ horsepower and don't care where they're pointed when you pin that throttle or if you've got enough brakes to slow back down. And for whatever reason, alcohol and snowmobiling seem to have a close relationship, at least in the midwest where people mostly ride trails. That leads to a lot of issues.

No i totally agree. Ive never been uneasy on anything motorized except a snowmobile

 

[dvdswan]

Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. Automotive world will miss you.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

This makes for a rather auspicious start to 2023…

Definitely prayers for his family…

 

[Blmpkn]

No i totally agree. Ive never been uneasy on anything motorized except a snowmobile

Man up buttercup lol.

Atvs are 3.5x as deadly as snowmobiles annually, apparently.


It is super sad though. Dude lived the life many of us dream of.

At the very least... you know his family is set financially, even before life insurance pays out. The only thing worse than losing your families patriarch.. is losing your lifestyle and everything else immideately after because they were the breadwinner. I've been through that.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Man up buttercup lol.

Atvs are 3.5x as deadly as snowmobiles annually, apparently.


It is super sad though. Dude lived the life many of us dream of.

At the very least... you know his family is set financially, even before life insurance pays out. The only thing worse than losing your families patriarch.. is losing your lifestyle and everything else immideately after because they were the breadwinner. I've been through that.

ATV's are more deadly by number cause more people ride them and they can be ridden more then 3 months (if youre lucky) a year.

My Quads stop and steer way better then any sled ive ever been on. Granted not as fast but eh.

 

[James Morse]

About 25 years ago my neighbors went ATV'ing, the wife took a tumble, said she was ok, came home and died from internal bleeding.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

WOW, the first few days of the new year and a few Celebrity dearths already. Ken Block, Gangsta Boo, Barbara Walters, and one og the Pointer Sisters, all in one weekend. This is going to be one helluva year.

Jeremy Renner (marvel Hawkeye) somehow got ran over pushing snow over the weekend too.

In stable condition after surgery but got hurt pretty bad.

 

[Ranger850]

Jeremy Renner (marvel Hawkeye) somehow got ran over pushing snow over the weekend too.

In stable condition after surgery but got hurt pretty bad.

Yeah, My wife, who reads all the gossip stuff, thought that the two incidents were related at first. I said " Why is HawkEye playing in the Snow with Ken Block?". Then she figured it out that they were seperate incidents.