Hoonigan Files for Bankruptcy with a Massive $1.2 Billion in Debt
Backed by a team of enthusiasts, and buoyed by the racing and likable shenanigan content of the late Ken Block, Hoonigan rose to become one of the most popular brands in the last fifteen years.
But in the last year, the company has gone through major changes, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware yesterday.
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Originally getting noticed on the rally racing circuit, Block also garnered millions of views for his Gymkhana videos that originally aired on the DC Shoes YouTube platform started in 2008.
Block hired Brian Scotto to help him create the first video with a theme of skate video that DC shoes had become popular for. By the third video in 2010, we noticed the heavily modified 2011 Ford Fiesta of Block sporting the first “Hoonigan” reference as a name on the driver door window.
By the fourth Gymkhana video in August of 2011, the Hoonigan brand was visible on the top of the rear spoiler, and that was the year Block and Scotto joined forces on the brand.
Just over three years later, the seventh Gymkhana video premiered on the Hoonigan YouTube channel, with Block debuting the all-wheel-drive 1965 Ford Mustang that later became known as the ‘Hoonicorn.’
But it wasn’t just Block that was responsible for the Hoonigan name rising in popularity. Co-creator Scotto oversaw a group of enthusiasts and content creators that helped the brand become more recognizable, including Van Anatra, Hert (Hertrech Eugene Jr.), Mister Zachery (Zac Martens) and several more.
In September 2021, Hoonigan merged with Wheel Pros, a wheel company that features several brands, including American Racing, Rotiform and U.S. Mags. By late 2023, the combined company were rebranded as Hoonigan.
But a lot of things had changed by then. Ken Block had passed in a tragic snowmobile accident in early 2023, and most of the staff has moved on to either start their own brand of content, or other opportunities.
On September 8th, 2024, Hoonigan announced it had entered an in-court financial restructuring process to help with 1.2 billion dollars of debt. The hope is they can acquire a reported 570 million dollars of new capital.
With Hoonigan being one of a few companies that recently saw a massive change in their content creation teams, do you think announcement is just the first of many to come in the industry?
Can Hoonigan recover, or will they go up in smoke?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Hoonigan.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com