Tyson Mao

Tyson Mao was born on May 8, 1984 in San Francisco, California. Tyson Mao was first introduced to the Rubik's Cube by his father when he was four years old but he didn't learn to solve it until years later. In July 2003, Tyson's younger brother Toby came home from summer camp excited because he had just learned how to solve the Rubik's Cube. Tyson asked his brother to teach him how to solve the Cube and two hours later he was on his way to becoming the World's next Speedcubing champion.

Tyson Mao spent months trying different methods of solving the Rubik's Cube. In December 2003, he solved the cube in less than 20 seconds using the Fridrich Method. Tyson has excelled in many aspects of cube solving. Among his achievements is being the first to solve the Cube blindfolded in less than two minutes. In January 2004, Tyson started the Caltech Rubik's Cube Club and began overseeing events for Rubik's Cube competitions. He is also co-founder of the World Cube Association, which is the official governing body of competitive Rubik's Cube events and sets the standards and regulations that govern official records achieved on Rubik's Cube puzzles.

Thanks to the Rubik's Cube, Tyson has found his way to fame. He appeared on Beauty and the Geek2 and also taught Will Smith how to solve the Cube for the movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness." He has solved the cube for a crowd at a Giants game and appeared on Anderson Cooper's 360 degrees. On the show he attempted to solve the cube blindfolded but unfortunately he did not succeed. Tyson has a degree in astrophysics and currently works at a consulting firm in the Bay Area. He also is a frequent guest at trade shows, lectures, and corporate events.