Ken Block had a huge impact on motorsports and the world. from starting a shoe company that had 100 million dollars in sales. becoming a rally racer and winning rookie of the year in the rally america championship and making the viral Gymkhana videos where Ken showed off his skill of car handling.

DC Shoes

Before Ken got into rally driving and making viral videos, Ken was an entrepreneur. While in college Ken became good friends with Damon Way and they started a company together called DC shoes in 1994. By the end of 1995 the company had almost 7 million dollars worth of sales. In 2004 DC shoes was purchased by quicksilver for 87 million dollars and the company hit 1 billion in revenue.

Rally Driving

Ken’s first introduction to rallying was from his friend Travis Pastrana. Ken took his first rally lesson in 2004 at team O’Neals rally school, showing his natural ability with driving. In 2005 Ken entered his first rally season placing fourth overall in the Rally America National Championship and getting rookie of the year award. Ken continued to race in the series racking up numerous wins.

Hoonigan

In 2013 ken changed the name of his rally team from monster world rally team to hoonigan racing division. The name hoonigan is defined as  “A person who operates a motor vehicle in an aggressive an unorthodox manner, consisting of, but not limited to, drifting, burnouts, doughnuts as well as acts of automotive aeronautics. One who ‘hoons’.” Hoonigan is a lifestyle brand, selling t-shirts and hats as well selling performance parts for rally and street cars. The Hoonigan brand also makes content on youtube like the viral gymkhana videos and Hoonicorn vs the world.

Sadly Ken Block died on January 2nd of 2023 in a snowmobile accident at the age 55. Hoonigan made a social media post confirming it saying, “Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon, And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed.”