Ken Block, a Long Beach native known as a legend in the action sports world, died in a snowmobile accident in Utah on Monday. He was 55.
Authorities in Utah say they were notified of the snowmobile accident in the Mill Hollow area, located within the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, sometime around 2 p.m.
Block was riding the snowmobile on a steep slope when the vehicle upended and landed on top of him, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
He was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident, although the state’s medical examiner’s office will determine the official cause of death, authorities said.
Hoonigan, an automotive lifestyle brand co-founded by Block in 2010 and based in Park City, Utah, confirmed his death through a post on social media Monday afternoon.
Block was born in Long Beach in 1967 and grew up in Southern California.
Before amassing millions of followers as a rally car driver, Block co-founded DC Shoes in 1994, which became a global success as it became popular among skaters and other athletes. In 2004, he sold the company to Quiksilver for over $80 million and launched his career as a rally car driver in 2005.
That same year, he was awarded Rally America’s Rookie of the Year honors.
Over the course of his career, Block won 16 national titles and five X Games medals, becoming a driving force in shedding light on the sport within the United States.
Hoonigan’s YouTube channel, which features videos of stunt-driving shows of Block and other members of the company’s racing division, currently has 5.34 million subscribers, while his videos have garnered more than one billion views.
In many of the company’s videos, smoke can be seen billowing from the parking lot of their headquarters in Block’s native Long Beach as they burn rubber on various vehicles. (Since those videos were shot, the headquarters has moved to Compton and now focuses on clothing.)
“Ken was a visionary, a pioneer, and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband,” Hoonigan wrote in a statement. “He will be incredibly missed.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the current status of Hoonigan’s headquarters and correct the year of Block’s birth and the year of DC Shoe’s founding.