PACE NOTE FOR A G.O.A.T.
A Momentous Inspiration
I've always regarded Ken as one of the most incredible marketing masterminds of our time. You wouldn't know him from selling a course or publicly speaking about business strategy often, however if you paid attention to him and his team of Hoonigans you knew. There was obvious preparation and intention behind everything he did. His influence reached far past skateboarding, snowboarding, and the automotive industry as you can see from the responses from everyone in the last day.
Ken's love of art, music, and creativity was apparent in everything he did. Ken could have had team liveries (paint jobs, race suits, helmets, merch etc) designed, slapped them on the car, snapped an iphone pic posted it up with a hashtag and called it a day. That’s what a lot of action sports/motorsports individuals do and they struggle to understand why no one interacts with their accounts. That wasn’t how ken did things and I picked up on that from the first time I saw him on the social platforms. Not only would @KBlock43 work with professional artists that he admired but he would highlight them for a few days on his large active platforms. This sort of colab is an artists dream. I know it has always been mine. Ken’s posts would cover lengthy content about the artist and the process of creating the final result and often times other things that artist has made. I remember days when he would post up a tiny corner of the new car just showing a tiny corner pop of color and a body line and it was like christmas eve for myself and so many #KB43 fans around the world. He would include a caption like Tuesday we've got something fun we're launching. He didn't have to do a lot of what he did but it was obvious it was important to him and I always admired that.
I taught myself graphic design to start a motocross graphics company back in 2010. I think the first thing I did after watching Ken's Gymkhana 3 video was put a drip design on a KTM lol. We're not going to show that concept I really was a beginner hah. Regardless Ken's way of not only using art but showcasing it to reach fans and ultimately sell sponsors products is what I've always loved. Sponsorship should be exciting. It should be cool. It should be engaging otherwise whats the point? Ken always was on the leading edge of cool. An actual icon. We all just tried to learn and do something like it which at times was probably obvious hah!
I remember being so excited to be at X Games and taking this picture. Now I look at it and wonder if I’ve ever had an original thought lol. Simple standing Ken Style pose with camo shoes on bec I remember Ken always wearing camo cargo shorts and I started wearing camo ha. Chuckling to myself as I realize all these things
A little backstory on my time with Ken. I hustled my way into the Global Rallycross series starting back in 2012 after a Super Car Lites test in Las Vegas after the GRC Finale. I spent a few days with Junior World Rally Champion Patrik Sandell and he proposed that I help him and his team create content for social media. I jumped in with both feet. Patrik, from the north of Sweden, needed help and I needed to be apart of this series. I’m forever grateful for Tad and Tanner Whitten and Patrik Sandell for the opportunity of a lifetime. It was in my opinion the best action sports marketing crash course a kid from a small cornfield town in Illinois could ask for. I was full of stoke year after year getting to work each race across the US, Barbados, Canada, Sweden and Norway. The icing on the cake was getting to attend my childhood “super bowl” event that is the X Games several years in a row. I’ll never forget getting a hard card with my name on it and when we competed against Ken Block in his Gymkhana Grid event and Sandell took the Silver Medal.
I know Ken's projects took a very impressive team. He had a vision and encouraged everyone to colab and make it big. I'm thankful for Ken and all the amazing projects him and his team have shared with the world. I know the creativity and determination of the 43 team will continue to revolutionize the automotive and social media industry for decades more. Although we don’t see each other on weekends anymore but I still follow and admire all of you! Thanks for always hanging out, offering photog & vid tips, and just being rad dudes just like KB. You are all rockstars in my book.
When I heard the news my thoughts instantly went to Lucy, Lia, Kira, and Mika 💔. The weekends at global rallycross I would always see these kids running around like kids do in the “paddock neighborhood” playing with their neighbors. Except this travelling neighborhood was filled with superstar dads. The Deegans, Pastranas, Mirras, Speeds, and Blocks kiddos would all be running around in and out of the haulers and motor homes playing. It truely is a family sport and I know these kids will / have learned how unique their family and friends group is. Ken was mainly in the zone on race weekends but it was always obvious he was their father first, racer second.
