From Georgetown to UK, freshman speedcuber turns puzzle-solving into real-world experience
Long before he arrived on campus, Georgetown native Luke Griesser was drawn to magic and the mystery behind it. That same curiosity led him to the Rubik’s Cube. Today, the 19-year-old freshman in the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky is among the world’s fastest speedcubers. He is already translating that passion into coaching and business experience.
Speedcubing is a competitive sport in which participants race to solve twisty puzzles as quickly as possible. Griesser, who is also a student in Lewis Honors College, specializes in the standard 3-by-3 Rubik’s Cube and can solve it in under five seconds. He is among the top American competitors, averaging times in the mid-6-second range on the 3-by-3. His official personal best is under five seconds, and he has earned multiple podium finishes at major international competitions.
Griesser traces the beginning back more than a decade, to a cube that landed in his family’s home almost by accident. At the time, his interests leaned toward performance and illusion.
“I think my obsession was magic at the time,” Griesser said. “Learning how to impress people with my own party trick is what really intrigued me at the beginning.”
That early fascination with tricks and patterns evolved into something more technical. Over the years, Griesser moved from casual practice to competitive speedcubing, refining the precise, layered method that allows elite solvers to complete the puzzle in seconds.
“The way you solve a Rubik’s Cube is in layers, like a cake,” Griesser said. “It’s a 3-by-3-by-3 cube, so you make a cross pattern on the bottom using the centerpieces to match the colors. Then you solve the eight corners to finish the first layer. The second layer is more edges, and the last layer is algorithmic.”
As a coach, Griesser uses the layered approach in teaching others.
“I break it down when I'm coaching in three different steps,” Griesser said. “It’s what you inspect because you are allowed to look at the cube for 15 seconds before you must start. It’s everything that you see in that time, and then it’s what you don't see in that time and then the last layer.”
Right after graduating high school last year, Griesser spent the summer in New York City working at The Cubicle. He has also been offered a long-term role with part ownership at Cubing.GG, the educational arm of the world’s top cubing brand.
Now at UK, Griesser is balancing coursework with real-world experience, using college as a time to refine both his academic and entrepreneurial goals.
“I’m hoping that my real-world experience with running the business coincides with my education of learning how a business should run, and as both my knowledge and experience increase, hopefully I can create something huge out of the educational community.”