eBay Motors celebrates race legend Ken Block in a new short film

Ken Block was a cultural icon who personified the joy of living on the edge. 

He is remembered for founding the skate brand DC Shoes, becoming a world-class Rally driver, co-founding Hoonigan Racing and launching the viral Gymkhana video series which has garnered over 550M views. His amazing life has been captured in a spectacular fast-paced short film directed by filmmaker and commercial helmer Ritesh Gupta, who is on the roster of the global production company Merman. 

The film promotes an auction of one-of-a-kind items from Ken Block’s collection that has been launched exclusively on eBay Motors in partnership with Block House Racing (BHR) and the 43 Institute (43i), a foundation created by Block’s family as a tribute to his life (43 was Block’s racing number). 43i exists to carry on Block’s legacy, creating paths of opportunity in motorsports, action sports and creative arts for driven people, who may lack the proper support system for growth and success. 100% of proceeds from eBay’s From The Collection: Ken Block will go to 43i.

The film transports fans back to Block’s most iconic moments, driving home that this isn’t just an opportunity to bid on car parts. It’s an opportunity to be part of Block's legacy. As part of the shoot, Gupta interviewed Block’s wife Lucy Block who shared his story and the backstory of many of the auction items. Gupta staged and shot an interactive museum installation with video projections, combining parts for sale from the auction with original footage of Ken and his remarkable life.

“The production was partially technical and partially artistic, but mostly it captured Ken’s tremendous humanity,” said Gupta. “We filmed car parts that had been damaged in races and are up for auction, and suspended them in front of installation screens that projected images of the source vehicles in action. We lined them up to create magic moments in which you see the suspended items in the foreground matched up with the cars. Lucy Block and the family loved this technique so much they asked if they could recreate this process down the road for future installations. It was so great to create this for someone whose life mattered to so many people - his family, friends and his devoted fans.”