Man solves Rubik's Cube in freefall, sets skydiving world record

Ishaan Hadkar solved two rotating puzzle cubes in freefall from 13,000 feet over Oceanside, California, and Guinness World Records counted it as the most rotating puzzle cubes solved in a single skydive. The 24-year-old finished both cubes before his feet touched the ground, turning a standard speedcubing format into a mid-air stress test.

What makes the record interesting to cubers is not just the stunt footage. In a normal WCA setting, the solve lives or dies on clean turning, calm hands and a table that is not trying to race you to the earth. Hadkar had none of that. He had wind, altitude and a hard deadline measured in seconds of freefall, which makes the solve a pure test of control under chaos.

This was also Hadkar’s first-ever skydive, which adds another layer to the attempt. Guinness said he is working on his own startup venture, and that one of his cubes broke during an earlier try, forcing him to reset and go again. For a solver used to rehearsing algs and setups on solid ground, that kind of failure is the exact sort of pitfall that can wreck a record attempt before the plane even levels out.

Hadkar is not new to extreme cube solving. Before the skydiving mark, he had already set a record by solving 10 Rubik’s Cubes while scuba diving, another event where the environment is doing everything it can to complicate turns, grip and recognition. Taken together, the two records make a clear pattern: Hadkar is building a name for himself by taking the same puzzle and moving it into places where most solvers would never try to look at a cross, let alone finish an algorithm.

The old benchmark in this skydiving category belonged to Australian skydiver Sam Sieracki, who solved a Rubik’s Cube in 28.25 seconds after jumping from 14,000 feet over Jurien Bay, Western Australia, in 2023. Hadkar’s result did not just beat that mark; it pushed the event further into the realm of real cubing skill under genuine pressure. Freefall is not a gimmick when the cube is already solved before touchdown.