Ken Block’s Gymkhana series has been one of the most viewed video series in the history of YouTube. Not only has this series landed a number of deals with the DC Shoes founder, but it has led to the Gymkhana series to be showcased as its own show on Amazon Prime. The Gymkhana series showcases some of the most awesome stunts ever performed in a car. This includes drifting, jumping, obstacles and much more. However, there are quite a few things that happen behind the scenes of the now-big-budget production that Ken Block’s Gymkhana series has become.

Updated February 2022: If you're a fan of Ken Block and his Gymkhana series, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with more details surrounding these little-known facts.

We are going to cover 20 little-known details behind Ken Block’s Gymkhana series. These little-known details will showcase a number of different elements of the series and the production that goes into making each video. Where the videos are generally around 10 minutes long, this, in fact, is a production that spans multiple days, locations and a vast script that Ken Block himself follows during each of the stunts. The Gymkhana series has amassed a huge following through social media and YouTube, with videos that are reaching hundreds of millions of views, and some hitting nearly 1 billion views on YouTube alone. Not only does this create some of the best automotive content online, but it gives a ton of room for finding out what goes into making each of the videos.

20 Gymkhana 1 Took 2 Days Of Filming

Ken Block from Gymkhana One
Via: Hoonigan

It is a little-known fact that Gymkhana 1 actually took 2 days of filming spread out over a full month. This was something that even Ken didn’t really expect since this was his time to have fun. Originally the Gymkhana series was for Ken to do some cool car tricks and promote DC Shoes.

However, since the success of Gymkhana 1, the series turned into a full machine that has continued to grow bigger and better to the 10th version of the series that has been recently released. This has created a tradition for going bigger and better than the ones before, and to think it just started with 2 days of filming stunts on an airfield...

19 The Stunt That Was Not Scripted

Via Motor1

In Gymkhana 3 there was a moment where during filming there was a massive downpour. This was one major factor that ended up hindering the progress of filming during Gymkhana 3. However, this didn’t stop Ken from having a bit of fun.

During the rain is when the filming of the donut sequence happened. This did end up making it into the video, however, this was something that wasn’t scripted at all. This was just Ken Block going out and making the best out of a situation, and it ended up being golden.

Related: 10 Sick Cars In Ken Block's Collection We'd Love To Drive

18 One Take On Gymkhana 6

Via Monster Energy

Originally there was supposed to be a one take shot during the filming of Gymkhana 6, however that didn't happen. There was actually rain that had fallen before they were heading to shoot the scene. This was one of the only times that the crew could have done a one-take scene since everything was built by them.

Unfortunately, by the time they were headed to do the filming, the rain had just fallen making them unable to get the one take shot. It wouldn’t be until Gymkhana 10 where there would be another similar scene, which they didn’t end up getting after all.

17 Travis Pastrana

Via Hoonigan

It is well known that Travis Pastrana and Ken Block are good friends, which is why Ken had to have Travis included in Gymkhana 5. During the video, Travis worked on doing a slow wheelie for Ken to drift around in his car.

However, one of the little-known details is that Travis actually had problems with his ankle. He had broken his ankle over a year before quite badly during the X-Games and was still working on recovery during the filming of Gymkhana 5. He actually had trouble with the brake during the wheelie, which is why it moved quite a bit faster than anticipated.

16 Tire Malfunction

Via Autoweek

During the filming of Gymkhana 3, there actually were quite a few issues regarding the tire compound that was on Ken’s car. The manufacturer actually ended up sending the wrong tire compound, causing a bad blowout and damage to the car.

This ended up being one of the last straws that Ken Block had with this tire manufacturer, and he ended up partnering with Toyo not long after this incident. Fortunately, new tires were delivered and filming continued along the way.

Related: A Deep Dive Into The Cars From Ken Block's Gymkhana Series

15 Gymkhana 9 In Buffalo

Via Motor1

The filming of Gymkhana 9 was actually not supposed to be in Buffalo, but in Australia. There ended up being issues with the police force in Sydney (the crew actually wasn’t allowed to film any of the stunts in the country at all).

This made the film scouts reconsider and ultimately led them to Buffalo, where they were given free rein over the city. This made for great entertainment and of course, great stunts by Ken Block. Not only was this one of the best Gymkhana videos to date, but it added a new dynamic of stunts that hadn’t been seen either.

14 Detroit And Gymkhana 3

Via Speedmotoring

Detroit is a location that was the first in line for the filming of Gymkhana 3, however they completely did not agree to the terms that Ken Block and the production crew were looking for. In fact, the city actually stated that if they were to film in Detroit, anything could be shut down by the city if they deemed necessary.

This meant that even if they were already set up to do a shot, the city could shut them down. Due to a money decision, the crew decided that it was not going to work in Detroit and ended up scouting the actual location that they used for the filming.

13 The Homage To Skateboarding

Via Motor Trend

In many of the Gymkhana videos, there always is a subtle reference to something that Ken is passionate about. In this case, skateboarding and board sports. Since Ken Block is one of the co-founders of DC Shoes it is natural that one of the videos finds a way to pay homage to skateboarding. Gymkhana 5 was one that did it subtly, however, it still was strong. When the crew shut down the bay bridge, they actually invited one of the DC Shoes riders to come to a session on the bridge while he was in town. The man in question was Josh Calis.

Thrasher Magazine is one of the most popular skateboarding magazines on the planet. This was one thing that Ken Block knew most. During the filming of Gymkhana 7, the crew actually invited the founder of Thrasher, Jake Phelps, to be a part of the video. His cameo actually came during the ending sequence where the Hoonicorn shredded through the Hollywood hills, and Jake Phelps was waving the checkered flag at the finish line. Jake actually didn’t have any interest in cars according to Ken Block, but he wanted to be a part of the filming.

12 The Barge

Via Hoonigan

This was one of the best stunts that Ken Block has ever done for the filming of Gymkhana. However, it actually wasn’t supposed to happen at all. According to the film crew, the original ending shot was supposed to be a session where Ken was drifting the car with the bridge in the background. However, at the last minute, a cruise ship had to come back to port.

This ruined that shot, until it made it better. One of the crew members actually had talked to the barge owner and rented the barge for them to do whatever they wanted for the final shot of the video. This gave not only an awesome ending, but one of the best stunts to date.

11 The Hardest Location Permit

Via Speedhunters

This is something that every director faces; every time the crew films at a location, they are faced with finding ways to get permits, in this case to film Ken doing the stunts. However, none compare to how difficult it was to get a permit to film at the Hollywood sign.

To film there, you not only had to get permission by the federal government but by the sign owners as well. Plus there were a ton of different rules, that if broken could lead to some of the worst legal action they could imagine since it was federal property, of course. The crew actually got the final go-ahead, on the 3rd day of filming Gymkhana 7, and had to immediately stop their current shots and get up there to film.

10 Throttle Lock

Via Wallpaper Cave

While the barge was headed to the water for taking that last shot of Ken drifting, there actually was a slight mishap. According to Ken, there was one thing he was afraid of, throttle lock and going into the ocean. Low and behold, the dreaded throttle lock happened.

This is something that happens extremely rarely with the level of cars that are built for rallycross and doing Gymkhana. However, his worst fear came to life.

9 The Same Location

Via Joel Strickland

One of the things that are difficult about the filming of the Gymkhana series is actually closing down the locations. A little-known detail about Gymkhana 5 is that most of the stunts were actually shot at the same intersection, just from different angles.

This included the infamous jump, Travis Pastrana’s wheelie and more. It proved to be difficult to get different locations during the middle of the day for filming due to the busy nature of the city. However, the flawless transitions and the camera work were definitely good enough to put us in awe.

8 The Ladder Trick

Via Motrolix

This was by far one of the best stunts to be featured in any of the Gymkhana videos. This involved a lot of risks and ended up being a really good shot at the end of the day. This was the first time the crew had a big-time production ordeal, including stunt people to do one of the videos.

However, due to the risk of this, the stunt team didn’t want it to happen. If they did, it would have been with wires and safety equipment, but ultimately, Ken and the crew did regardless, and the stunt turned out just as expected. There were no wires, no safety, just good timing, and great driving.

Related: This Is What We Love About Ken Block's Mustang

7 Hidden Homage To An Indie Cult Movie

Via Hot Rod Network

Like many of the films, Gymkhana 7 involved many different hidden elements that were in the background. One, in particular, was on a billboard alongside the highway in Gymkhana 7. This scene was simply where Ken flew on the highway with the Hoonicorn.

However, due to copyrights, certain brands cannot be shown in the film without permission. Which is why the billboard was covered up with a poster for The Room, an indie movie with a cult-like following. Although the crew agreed that the movie was terrible, they like adding these hidden elements in the filming of the series.

6 Last Minute Roll

Via Guys Gab

During the filming of Gymkhana 8, there was a break in filming where Ken and a few of the crew could actually find time to mess around in the GRC car. So in Ken Block fashion, he took the car back to the desert and began having a bit of fun when all of a sudden, he hit a rut in the dirt.

There was only 1 shot left until the film was complete, and they were given only a specific time frame to film. Not only did the crew completely get the car rebuilt and ready for the shot, but they did it just in time to finish the film, and get it rolling on the next project. The car actually went from completely destroyed to a working, functioning car just in time to do more donuts.

Related: 10 Sickest Cars Ken Block's Hoonicorn Has Beaten In A Straight Line

5 Final Scene In Gymkhana 8

Via Paul Tan

This was one of the more iconic scenes in any of the Gymkhana films. Especially being in Dubai, there were many different elements that went into the making of this. However, the hotel that they drifted around the fountain, gave them a strict time frame to do the filming.

The crew had only 1 hour to finish the filming, do the stunt and clear out. This is the same hotel that actually has really high-end cars (think gold Ferraris) in front of it, so naturally, there were a ton of rules that went into getting this shot for the film.

4 Hoonicorn In Gymkhana 8

Via Unruly

Since Gymkhana 8 was a huge budget production held in Dubai, there was actually supposed to be a cameo by the Hoonicorn during the final scene. It was supposed to be filmed doing donuts on one of the helipads on one of the highest buildings in the world.

However, due to the building's regulations not aligning with Ken Block’s vision of what he wanted the donuts to end up looking like, this didn’t happen. The building owners wanted to chain up the car and let it do donuts that way. However, Ken wanted to get closer to the edge and do donuts that way, which involved a lot more risk, and ultimately it was shut down.

3 The Deciding Factor For The Hollywood Sign

Via Thunder Studios

This is something that is a little-known fact about the filming of the Gymkhana 7 video; there was a small deciding factor behind getting the location permit to film. One of the city officials wanted to have a meet and greet with Travis Pastrana in order to get full permission to film.

For the crew, it actually was one of the best things that they could do, since Ken didn’t necessarily have to go out of his way to take care of this. Travis actually ended up doing the meet and greet, without knowing who the people were and why he was doing it.

2 The Outro Song

Via Hoonigan

For Gymkhana 6, the crew ended up using a song by Slayer in order to do the outro for the video. However, it wasn’t always the plan to use Slayer for that song. It was a last minute decision. Normally they would have to collaborate with the record label, but Slayer has the rights to all of their music.

This meant that one of the production crew members actually had to reach out to each of the band members and get their permission. This along with how they wanted their credits rolled at the end of the film, made it an interesting way to use the song.

1 The Hoonicorn's Broken Wheel

Via Top Gear

In Detroit, while filming Gymkhana 10, the Hoonicorn ended up hitting a curb extremely hard during the filming of one of the sequences. This ended up setting the crew back quite a bit as it didn’t just destroy the wheel, it messed up the suspension as well. Plus the crew ended up having to create a barrier for it to not happen again.

While this happened, they exceeded a deadline for another location that they were supposed to film at. This one was on the highway, where a stunt was going to happen. Due to time constraints and a ramp being built incorrectly, that location had to be cut from the filming.

Sources: Hoonigan, Top Gear, Motor Trend, Monster Energy, Speedhunters