Wiltshire sixth-former 'in complete shock' after smashing UK Rubik's cube record
Watch the moment where Aidan Grainger beats the UK national record for the fastest time solving the Rubik's cube.
A 17-year-old from Wiltshire has told ITV West Country of his "shock" on beating the national Rubik's cube record.
Aidan Grainger solved the cube in 3.69 seconds at a competition in Weston-super-Mare on Sunday 17 November.
The sixth-former currently juggles studying for his A-levels at Royal Wooton Bassett Academy with his Rubik's cube practice after school.
Aidan said: "When I stopped the timer, I was honestly in complete shock. It wasn't something I ever thought I would beat. Someone else had actually beaten the record a minute before me, and I just about beat the time they got as well.
"It was the greatest feeling. It was very emotional. My mind just broke down when I realised what was happening - I was like 'oh my god this is actually happening, I never thought I could do this.'"
Aidan first became interested in solving the Rubik's cube after receiving the puzzle as a Christmas present as a child.
He said: "When I was about six or seven, for Christmas I got the Rubik's cube at the bottom of my stocking. I couldn't do it for years and years.
"But one time, when I was 10, I saw it on the side of my shelf and thought 'I really want to get this done, this is really annoying me.' I looked up a bunch of tutorials on Youtube and figured out how to do it in about four or five hours.
"Once I solved it, I was like 'Wow, I did it! Can I do it faster than that?' And then really quickly, my times went down, four minutes, three minutes. And then, once I hit the one minute mark, I started looking into competitions."
The teenager broke the national record for the regular six-sided Rubik's cube, and has also previously broken records in the 12-sided Megaminx cube.
According to Aidan, breaking the national record for the Rubik's cube was far more difficult, and much more of a surprise.
"The six-sided cube - the regular Rubik's cube - a lot more people do it. Significantly about ten times more people compete in the regular Rubik's cube compared to the 12-sided one."
"The time I got was my fastest ever solve at home or in a competition. Which usually never happens - you can do thousands of solves at home but not achieve that in a competition."
Aidan is heading off to Seattle for the World Championships in July 2025 where he will compete in the competition for the Rubik's cube and the Megaminx.
He said: "I hope to compete, hopefully podium and perhaps a win in the Megaminx. But, in terms of the regular Rubik's cube, I am not sure I'm even seeing off making it in the semi-finals or finals. The solve I got was extremely lucky."
He said he hopes for more people to get into speed-cubing - the sport of rapidly solving the Rubik's cube.
"It's honestly the best community I've ever been involved in. Everyone is really nice. If someone loses a record, the first thing they do is go and congratulate you.
They don't care too much that their record has been broken, because they are just so happy for you to get the good result yourself. It's the best friendly competition with the best people I've ever met."