Ken Block has earned a fortune by being an incredibly smart entrepreneur and doing all the things he is passionate about!
But, who was Ken Block before Gymkhana? Flagbearer of the extreme sports, successful rally driver and a serial entrepreneur, Ken Block was born on 21 November 1967. Bred and raised in California, Ken had started his career as a draughtsman (draftsman), but quickly realized that the career of an architect didn’t appeal to him. Ken loved the art and the process of creating them, but hated making a business out of it. According to an interview with the Economic Times, Ken said that he hated it because it takes decades of experience, to climb to the top, in that business. Hence, he quit from the drafting job and tried snowboarding in Colorado. Ken didn’t succeed, and he returned to California.
This is the time when he found out his love for business and adventure sports. Ken started designing equipment for sports stores, frequently visited by professional athletes. Soon after, Block started the first business of his life in his hometown. The perseverance, relentlessness, and above all, his fearlessness helped him reach where he is now. Block has a total net worth of $230M as of now, and he does not need to do anything, but, he is still hustling just because he loves every minute of it. Besides, who doesn’t dream of adding more zeroes to their accounts while doing what we love? Here's How Ken Block amassed his fortune.
Serial Entrepreneur: Co-Founded A Few Clothing Lines & Finally DC Shoes On Debt
Ken met Damon Way during a community class, and soon both became friends. They kick-started a series of start-ups, which include Blunt Magazine, Eightball Clothing, Type A Snowboards and Droors Clothing. In 1993, Ken and Damon founded DC Shoes (which was in essence Droors Clothing, previously) in Ken's garage. Nowadays, Block's garage is the collection of the most insane cars and trucks. Droors went defunct. The story of how DC Shoes was founded, is unique too. Ken needed $10,000 for the seed capital and after much convincing, his parents agreed to lend him the required money. That's how one of the most famous sports apparel brands of the world was kick-started.
Damon was the older brother of the legendary Danny Way. Danny helped the duo in building rapport with the other top athletes. He also performed several unseen skateboard tricks in the ads. This further skyrocketed the sales.
In the first year of the launch, the company generated a revenue of $1.5M. Within just 2 years, in 1995, DC shoes hit the sales number of $7M. By 2003, the brand was making $100M every year. Subsequently, Quicksilver acquired it for $87M, and after that the company made $1B. The major chunk of Block's wealth came from DC Shoes and its sale. Even after moving on, he was still leading the company as Brand Vision Leader.
Rally Car Racer: Professional Rally Driving
Even after landing the fortune, Block did not stop. He discovered his love for dirt and rally, and collaborated with Subaru, and later with Ford, as a professional rally driver. In his rally career, Block earned five top 5 finishes. By the end of his first year, he won the Rally America Rookie of the year award. Block explained in an interview that he had actually been riding dirt bikes long before he started his rallying career. This was the time when he joined as a rally racer at Rally America. Block didn't leave his racing career to fate, he used social media to promote his career, which further boosted his net worth, too.
Ken has a special affection towards drifting cars. Not only rally or drift cars, but he also drifts his Ford F 450 Super Duty dually. His videos of performing unseen stunts and complicated courses garnered a huge number of views and following. He also drove in the WRC, and then World Rally Cross, since then.
Hoonigan Industries & The Gymkhana Files
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m_KBvP0_8Tc
Block founded his motorsport company, Hoonigan Industries, a lifestyle brand for auto fanatics. In early 2010, he formed his own Rally team, called Hoonigan Racing Division. HRD branched off to yet another profit-making spin-off, called Hoonigan Media Machine, which creates fun content, specifically, videos for the fans. Extreme stunts, inner quirks, and how-to videos of the racing team and Block’s signature donuts formed the series, The Gymkhana Files, which went viral. It started as an experimental ride and practice session on a Gymkhana race spot, but, Block soon realized its true potential and made a full-blown series out of it. It is one of the very little known facts about Ken Block's Gymkhana series.
This viral series helped him get more money out of his sponsors, to race more. Well, it was more of a win-win for both Block and his sponsors, because, they could advertise their logos in the show. It was like an infomercial, which gave them huge exposure. Block brought the Rally to mainstream America, and he has earned every penny he rightfully deserves. He is now 54 years old, and we are very lucky that he is not retiring from his hustle, anytime soon. He has only recently announced his return to Subaru, and he has also signed a deal with Audi to develop solutions for electric mobility. It seems Ken Block is still at the top of his game.