Ken Block, The Hoonigan, R.I.P.

Ken Block is dead. The entrepreneur and powersports celebrity met his end beneath an overturned snowmobile on the vertiginous slopes of Utah’s Wasatch County on January 2. He was 55 years old, leaving behind a wife and three children. After a life witnessed by many fans through the fisheye lens of dozens of GoPros, he died on a relatively routine snowmobile outing.

His death is a shock, not because he never risked his life but because he was ever flirting with mortality within and without fire-breathing machines. Block’s fans and peers observed him scud around the reaper’s blade at 110 mph with rear wheels churning dirt and asphalt for traction hundreds of times, so it’s difficult to square his end with such a legacy of invincibility.

About the Author

Luther Ray Abel

Luther Ray Abel is an Associate Editor for National Review. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Luther is a proud native of Sheboygan, Wis.

Ken Block is dead. The entrepreneur and powersports celebrity met his end beneath an overturned snowmobile on the vertiginous slopes of Utah’s Wasatch County on January 2. He was 55 years old, leaving behind a wife and three children. After a life witnessed by many fans through the fisheye lens of dozens of GoPros, he died on a relatively routine snowmobile outing.

His death is a shock, not because he never risked his life but because he was ever flirting with mortality within and without fire-breathing machines. Block’s fans and peers observed him scud around the reaper’s blade at 110 mph with rear wheels churning dirt and asphalt for traction hundreds of times, so it’s difficult to square his end with such a legacy of invincibility.