Cali Cube master, 21, breaks Rubik’s cube world record in 3.13 seconds

A California native set the new world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube, smashing the record in just 3.13 seconds at an event on Monday. Max Park (pictured), 21, has won over 400 events against fellow ‘cubers’ and was even featured in a Netflix documentary called The Speed Cubers in 2020. Park, who was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism as a child, set a new world record in what’s known as the 3x3x3 single solve competition, according to the World Cubing Association.

You can see in the video as Park makes several attempts to break the 3.47 second record that had been in place over four years by China’s Yusheng Du at the event in Long Beach, California. Park and everyone around erupts into loud cheers and appear as if they’ve had their minds blown as his 3.13 second time is shown on a scoreboard. 

Max has held several Guinness World Records in the past, in various cube sizes and has the fastest average time to solve a Rubik’s Cube with just one hand. Park, who has 170,000 followers on Instagram, has gotten over a million views on his record setting solve. His parents, Schawn and Miki, explained in a 2019 piece that the competition and the activity of solving rubik’s cubes were a way to help Park develop. ‘Originally, we never started cubing because of cubing. We started cubing because of Max’s autism,’ they said. They said that the key to developing an autistic child is finding situations where they can socialize. 

The Parks noted that when he was very young, ‘his fine motor skills were not there.’ ‘He couldn’t open water bottles so we were constantly looking for something that made him strengthen his fine motor skills,’ they added. ‘We had a Rubik’s Cube around the house and he was showing interest.’ Beyond motor skills, the competitions were an excellent way for him to develop in other situations. 

His parents would teach him how to stand in line, wait his turn and say that he was ready to go when it was his turn. ‘Looking at somebody and pointing, things like that, were a big factor because with autism theory of mind is an issue and so we needed to practice that a lot.’ Having a son who is gifted in the competition appears to be just a bonus for the Park family. ‘Him becoming good at cubing was just an afterthought. It actually wasn’t even considered. It wasn’t even important.’ Pictured: Max with his mother.

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