[Member Exclusive] Matty Hiroto Inaba and the Future of US Cubing

From the earliest days of competitive cubing in the early 1980s to the present, there have been innumerable shifts in technique, cube, and, most importantly, dominance. It seems like most of the world has been in a transitional period when it comes to that last metric, with a new generation of cubers taking times down to previously inconceivable levels. But that next generation seems to be stagnant in one of the biggest cubing nations in the world: the United States. Of the top 50 solvers ranked based on average in the US, only 12 have a WCA ID from 2021 onward. In a competitive world that is quickly being dominated by an influx of younger cubers from Europe and China, the US is arguably in a declining state of competitive relevance when it comes to its next generation. However, one cuber is looking to change this trend by personally coaching a trio of up-and-coming young cubers into the US’s next superstars. That competitor is the United States’ number-one-ranked cuber: Matty Hiroto …