FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 10 | Page 84

and with a fresh KX 450F has been enjoying a bit of freeriding. It turns out the day before we met him he had been getting his dose of two-wheeled action out in the English countryside with the MTB legend that is ‘Peaty’. “I got to go downhill mountain biking with Steve Peat, which was a lot of fun!” It turns out Block is still quite the MTB head and gets hooked up with custom DH bikes by Specialized. “I’ve been riding downhill for about 15 years, so it was cool to ride with him. I only get to do it so much though, you know.” As well as dripping in cool parts, Ken’s bike is of course painted to match his 2015 Ford race car livery. “Specialized have been taking really good care of me over the last few years. It was cool to be able to bring it over and get some more time in on it!” But Block’s real passion lies in rally driving. His Gymkhana videos, along with big TV events like the X Games and the Red Bull Global Rallycross might be what he is best known for, but Block’s true rally passion runs ................................... KEN BLOCK - A BRIEF HISTORY 1994 Block and Damon Way launch DC Shoes. DC Shoes is sold to Quicksilver. ..................................... 2005 Block enters his first national rally championship. Block wins the Rally America Rookie of the Year award. DC Mtn Lab is released ft. Block ..................................... 2006 Block competes in the first ever X Games rally event. ..................................... 2007 Block jumps snowboard kickers at Snow Park NZ in his Subaru ........................... .......... 2008 Block wins Rally New York, USA ‘DC Shoes: Ken Block’s Gymkhana Practice’ drops ..................................... 2010 Block moves from Subaru to Ford Block wins his first points in WRC Hoonigan Racing Division is launched ..................................... 2013 Gymkhana GRiD is launched ..................................... 2014 The Hoonicorn is unveiled in Gymkhana 7 ..................................... 2015 The Hoonigan Ford Escort is built 84 | FreestyleXtreme.com deep. Whenever possible, he will find himself racing through the woods at a round of the Rally America National Championship or in a tiny town in New Zealand, racing the locals on gravel roads in the rain. Gymkhana 7: Wild In The Streets Of Los Angeles blew the lid off the Gymkhana series. Over the past month or so, Block and his crew have been busy preparing and filming the next instalment of the viral video series: Gymkhana 8. At the time of writing this, no information or exact dates have been released from Hoonigan, but with a rumour that the video will be dropping early in the new year, we are starting to get excited all the same. Sadly Ken gave us absolutely nothing when we hinted at a tip-off for the next video, but with a new location and the new Ford Escort as his weapon of choice, we are already daydreaming about what the concept could be. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Ken, the Hoonigans and the wonderful world of Gymkhana. #killalltires