Tyson Mao appeared as a member of the cast and a contestant during the second season of the CW reality television series Beauty and the Geek, where he was paired up together with Thais Soares. He was born on May 8, 1984 in San Francisco, California, and is one of the world’s champion Rubik’s Cube speed solvers. Mao has become especially well-known for his performance in the 3x3x3 blindfold category for Rubik’s Cube solving, closely rivaled by the likes of Matyas Kuti, Chris Krueger, and Leyan Lo. Back in 2004, he co-founded the World Cube Association together with Ron van Bruchem.
The association regularly holds competitive events for Rubik’s Cube puzzle solving and speed challenges. Mao is considered to be among the new generation of Rubik’s Cube puzzle solvers, or “speedcubers” as they’re called, and he has learned from both Leyan Lo and Shotaro Makisumi. The method that Mao utilizes was developed by Jessica Fridrich, and his best time so far for a 3x3x3 speed solution was 12.89 seconds. Mao has also done a 3x3x3 speed solution challenge while blindfolded at one minute and 54.33 seconds. Among the other television productions he has appeared on are The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.
(Photos courtesy of the CW)