Ever heard of speedcubing? It is a competitive sport which revolves around the concept of solving combination puzzles in quick time. And Chinmay Prabhu, a 25-year-old from western India’s Maharashtra has set several records in an attempt to make the sport popular.

Among the several records he has set, one includes becoming the ‘fastest to solve a rotating puzzle tetrahedron in a soap bubble.’ And he achieved this feat in an astounding 29.97 seconds on February 25, 2024 in Malad West, Mumbai city. The record was adjudged admissible on March 20.

Visuals showed Prabhu sitting in a room with a table in front. He washed his hands and then blew a bubble onto the table. The 25-year-old subsequently placed the rotating puzzle tetrahedron inside the bubble. Thrusting his hands into the bubble, Prabhu began to solve the puzzle, and in less than 30 seconds, the task was completed. Prabhu, who became fascinated with the Rubik’s cube in 2015 after witnessing a friend solve one, conceived the idea of incorporating bubbles into speedcubing while competing in a competition held in Romania.Speaking to Newslions, Prabhu said, “Back in 2019, while representing India at Romania’s Got Talent in Europe, I met a bubbleologist. I was greatly inspired by her and learned the art of making soap bubbles,” he said, adding, “A major challenge was the weather conditions in India compared to Europe. I practiced for nearly 5 years for this record across all seasons to determine which conditions would be most suitable for the bubble to last longer.”

After five years of hard work, Prabhu tried his hand at this challenge and successfully achieved the record. However, this wasn’t his first accomplishment. The Mumbai youngster’s first of five records came in 2018 when he solved a whopping nine puzzles (pyraminx) underwater. Prabhu completed all of this in a single breath, setting the record in a minute and 48 seconds.

He also holds Guinness World Records for ‘The most Pyraminx cubes solved on a bicycle,’ ‘solving a rotating puzzle tetrahedron upside down,’ and ‘the fastest time to solve a rotating puzzle tetrahedron while in freefall (skydiving).’

Prabhu added that his first record was solving nine pyraminx puzzles underwater. “Back then, I didn’t even know the procedure for getting into the Guinness World Records; I figured out everything from scratch, practiced to increase lung capacity for holding breath, and everything about the first record is special to me,” he added. He also mentioned that he works at a cybersecurity firm in Bengaluru, which is based in the neighboring state of Karnataka.

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