Watch SoCal Native Smash Rubik's Cube Record In 3.13 Seconds

LONG BEACH, CA — It might be hard watching Max Park do in just 3.13 seconds what most of us have tried and failed repeatedly over the years, but the 21-year-old Cerritos native shattered the world Rubik's Cube-solving record in awe-inspiring fashion.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Under the watchful eyes of a teenage judge and with a series of rapid-fire flicks of the risk, Park broke the world record for solving the 3x3 Rubik's Cube Sunday at a Pride event in Long Beach, according to the World Cube Association. He beat the old record by 0.34 seconds to become the new Rubik's "speedcubing" champion.

Park makes it look easy, but he spent years mastering the cube since being introduced to the toy as a toddler to treat severe autism, according to the Netflix documentary "The Story of Max Park's Childhood & Autism | Speed Cubers."

"As a baby, as soon as we brought him home from the hospital, I felt something was a little off," Park's father Schwan Park said in the film.

When their child was diagnosed with severe autism, the Parks were crushed.

"I remember we were sitting at the edge of our bed and we were just hugging each other, and we just both lost it. We were just crying and, I think, to me, it felt like, 'Let's cry our hearts out now and get to work."

And they did.

The Parks worked with therapists to develop their son's fine motor skills with toys such as the Rubik's cube, and his dynamic mind and relentless drive took it from there.

Sunday was far from the first time Park shattered a world record. He has a place in the Guinness World Record Hall of Fame, holding nine Rubik's Cube records as of 2022. More than once, he's broken his own record.

"From 4x4x4 through to 7x7x7 and the fastest average time to solve a Rubik’s Cube one-handed, he has smashed records in almost every category, including several times bettering his own mark," according to Guinness World Record.

But the 3x3 Rubik's Cube record is special. It's the most famous configuration of the cube.

And when Park shattered the record Sunday, the crowd of mainly kids and Rubik’s speedcubers went ballistic.

"Yes" Park shouted, slamming the cube down onto the table.

The World Cube Association judge put his hands up in awe and another worker held the crowd at bay as children jumped and screamed, knowing history had been made...until Park goes after his own record again.