Rally car icon Ken Block ‘loved the state of Utah’ and shared it with the world

Everything Ken Block did was an adventure and everywhere he went was a thrill-seeker’s dream.

He drifted through the streets of London in a modified Mustang. He took flight off the steep hills of San Francisco in a Ford Fiesta. He rallied through the snow in Sweden and the deserts of Mexico.

But he called Utah home.

The founder of the DC Shoes company, a five-time X Games medalist and rally car icon, died Monday afternoon in a snowmobile accident in the Mill Hollow area of Wasatch County. Police said he was riding “on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended, landing on top of him.”

During his action-packed life, the 55-year-old started a YouTube channel where he entertained and informed his nearly 2 million subscribers about his craft, while also introducing them to some of the best terrain Utah has to offer — from Hell’s Revenge and Gemini Bridges in Moab; to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, slot canyons and his favorite UTV road in Kanab.

“His footprint and DNA will always have an impact on what’s taken place in Utah because he lived here, he had his compound here, he loved Utah,” said Jeff Robbins, CEO of the Utah Sports Commission.

Utah in Block’s words

In his videos about Utah locales specifically, he talked about what he liked about each place, then drove though the areas he was highlighting in ways that would make thrill-seekers giddy.

Here’s what he said about some of his favorite spots to shred.

On Moab: “The thing about Moab is there is some of the craziest terrain I’ve ever seen.”

On Gemini Bridges: “I love this area because there is such a variety of things to do here. There’s so much access, there’s incredible camping, there’s great mountain biking loops, and there’s some of the best access to amazing rock crawling trails in the world.”

On Sand Hollow: “Another reason why this place is quite unique is it’s all state park, it’s all off-road vehicle area. — which means you can drive over literally anything.”

On Coral Pink Sand Dunes: “They’re actually called pink sand dunes, but they don’t look that pink to me — they look very orange. ... The sand’s really soft and the wind is able to move it around and make these really steep dunes. They’re really quite different than any other dune I’ve ever driven these [Can-Am vehicles] on.”

Chris Gunnarson, president of Woodward in Park City and a close friend of Block for 25 years, had the privilege of exploring Utah — and the world — with their two families. He said Block loved snowmobiling in the Uintas, heli-skiing at Powderbird in Alta, boating in the Jordanelle Reservoir, dirt biking in Swing Arm City, and many more.

“He took advantage of the whole state,” Gunnarson said. “He loved the state of Utah.”

Block the Park City local

Block, a California native, made his home in Park City, Utah, where he loved walking his two Siberian huskies around town, then snowshoeing up a mountain and snowboarding back down. He described it as “the best dog walk in the world” in a 2020 YouTube video.

“I’m pretty lucky to live in such an amazing little town in Utah,” he said in the video.

Block built the 12,000-square-foot racing division headquarters of his company Hoonigan in Park City in 2012. Just six years later, he competed in the Nitro World Games at the Utah Motorsports Campus that included the first-ever rally event in the state.

Travis Clarke worked as Block’s agent for the last three and a half years, but has known and worked with him through the Wasserman agency for the last 13 years. He said Block chose Park City as his home because of the seasons and the ability to partake in what he loved most.

“It was a great place to live that allowed him to snowboard and moto and mountain bike and do everything he wanted to do, and still be close to southern California,” Clarke said. “He moved up here before a lot of people started moving up to the mountains from California. He was definitely on the beginning of that trend. He just loves it up here. He just loved it.”

Clarke said Block first discovered Park City before he moved there full time. When he owned DC Shoes, he created a site colloquially called the “DC Mountain Lab,” which he built for team riders. It included a freestyle park and a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house. The property went up for auction in 2015, per a news release.

Clarke said Block had recently bought a 120-acre ranch 30 minutes outside of Park City where he was developing tracks for motocross, rally car and UTVs. It would’ve been his “home away from home, so to speak,” Clarke said.

“He was investing more time and energy and money into the area here because he just loved it and was happy here,” Clarke said.

Block the icon

Will Baird has loved motorsports since he was a teen. It started with supercross, then evolved into race car and rally car driving. That’s how he was introduced to Ken Block.

Baird, a 33-year-old Salt Lake City resident, quickly became a fan.

Then Baird learned Block lived in Utah.

“I just thought it was even cooler that there’s a rally guy in the same state as me who is really popular,” Baird said.

Baird’s love of Block and rally car racing got so deep that the car he drives — A 2011 Subaru Impreza — looks similar to a 2008 hatchback version Block had earlier in his career. His New Year’s resolution is to go to the DartFish rally car school in Washington where Block used to practice.

“My dream is to be a rally car driver like Ken Block and be as good as Ken Block,” Baird said.

Block’s larger-than-life status arose from all the different industries and careers he ended up thriving in, whether it was as a show mogul, an entrepreneur, a motorsports legend, or a marketer and businessman.

“It was kind of just unbelievable how many different careers he had and how many different sports he touched,” Gunnarson said. “A Ken Block only comes along once in a lifetime.”

Block the family man

Sarah Burgess, a driver who has competed in multiple disciplines and helped start BMI Racing, used to work at the motorsports campus doing track operations and business development. It was through that role that she really got to know Block because she facilitated the days he’d go to the track and film there.

The two had several conversations about the racing industry during Burgess’ time at the campus. But what she remembers most are the moments Block showed his humility and devotion as a father.

She was there when Block showed his daughter, Lia, how to drive a stick shift. She was there when Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. taught Lia how to drift in a 5.0 Fox Body Ford Mustang made to look like the car in Vanilla Ice’s music video for “Ice Ice Baby.” She watched him root for all three of his children when they raced go-karts at the campus.

“The love and support that he has for his family and helping his kids grow and just providing them with life experiences as well ... was just an awesome thing,” Burgess said.

Clarke said one of Block’s best traits was his desire to always want to build up those around him. He described block as selfless, even for a person as driven and hard-working as he was.

Clarke described Block as someone who made time for his loved ones no matter what.

“His family was everything and his world,” Clarke said. “No matter how busy he was or he got, he was always making sure to take time to be with his family and bring them around. And that’s just, again, another rare trait these days, seems like.”

One thing Gunnarson admired about Block’s relationship with his family was how he was constantly trying to find ways to spend more time with his wife, two daughters and son.

“He was such a cool dad in that he sort of never pushed them into anything, but he opened the door so they could have an opportunity to do anything that they were interested in.”

Lia Block posted a heartfelt message on Instagram on Tuesday, remembering that her dad “always did what he loved no matter what” and that she “wanted to be just like dad.”

“Yesterday I didn’t just lose my father, I lost my best friend,” she wrote. “He never missed an opportunity to help us grow as good people, he always told me that he wanted us to be even more amazing, caring, happy, selfless, humans than him and my mom.”

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