Interview with the 3x3x3 World Champion - Philipp Weyer!

An interview from 2019, conducted right after the World Championship in Melbourne.

From 11 to 14 July 2019, Melbourne, Australia, hosted the latest edition of the biennial Speedcubing World Championship. 833 excellent speedcubers competed, including world record holders and medallists from the previous World Championship, held in Paris in 2017. There, the flagship event, classic 3x3x3, was won by Max Park. The recently finished competition, however, saw the young American hand over his title to Philipp Weyer from Germany, born in 1997. The newly crowned 3x3x3 World Champion, who lives near Düsseldorf, calls it the greatest achievement of his speedcubing career. Strefa Kostek decided to get in touch with Philipp to congratulate him and ask him a few questions.

SK: How does it feel to be the 3x3x3 World Champion?

Philipp Weyer: Actually, pretty normal. Of course I was absolutely thrilled for the first few days, but at some point you stop thinking about it all the time. Life gets back to normal quickly :)

SK: How did your passion for speedcubing begin? How old were you when you started solving?

Philipp Weyer: My speedcubing story goes back to autumn 2009, when I watched a TV report featuring a few fast German speedcubers. After seeing it, I was so fascinated by the magic cube that I wanted to learn how to solve it myself. That same year I got a cube for Christmas and immediately looked up some tutorials. I was 12 years old at the time.

SK: After what you achieved at the World Championship, do you feel fulfilled as a speedcuber? Was winning the recent championship the peak of your speedcubing dreams, or do your plans go a bit further?

Philipp Weyer: I always wanted to become World Champion and earn a WR, maybe a few. Over time, though, that dream started to fade, because I'm getting older and the youngest speedcubers are improving very quickly. On the other hand, winning the World Championship definitely gave me a lot of new motivation to learn new algorithms and techniques that will help me stay at the top level.

SK: What do you like doing apart from cubing?

Philipp Weyer: In recent months I've started going to the gym, especially lifting heavy weights, and I really enjoy it. Apart from that, I have a rather annoying habit of watching all kinds of TV series and shows whenever I have the time.

SK: To reach the level you're at now, you surely had to train a lot. Did it ever cause you problems at school or at work?

Philipp Weyer: My everyday responsibilities have pretty much never suffered because of my speedcubing training. I'm quite good at managing my free time, and whatever I need to do always gets done on time.

SK: Talent or hard work – which do you think matters more in speedcubing?

Philipp Weyer: Although I think talent plays an important role in cubing, I believe the most important things are dedication and commitment. You simply have to stick with your training, be persistent and be willing to keep learning new things. I'd say that if you want to be among the best in any sport, a bit of talent is essential.

SK: What advice would you give to young speedcubers who dream of reaching the top, world-class level you're at now?

Philipp Weyer: I'm bad at giving advice, so I'll just say that it's worth training consistently and listening to someone else who is good at cubing. I don't know if I can be a role model, because my solves are rather inefficient and I don't even know as many algorithms as I'd like to. What I do have is very nimble, fast fingers. Beginner speedcubers should definitely spend as much time as possible learning algorithms and new techniques.

SK: How did you motivate yourself to train? Did you ever have low points when you wanted to quit cubing?

Philipp Weyer: I don't think I ever had to motivate myself to train, because I usually did it "on the side" while doing something else. There was, however, a period when I lost my motivation to cube for no reason. I didn't touch a cube for half a year, but somehow the enthusiasm came back on its own, and after that six-month break I resumed my speedcubing training.

SK: What would you change in speedcubing if you could?

Philipp Weyer: I'd remove feet from the list of official events, as soon as possible!

[feet - an official competition event in which the 3x3x3 cube is solved with the feet - editor's note. Since 2020, solving with feet is no longer a WCA event.]

SK: Apart from your gold medal in 3x3x3, do you have any standout memory from the recent Championship?

Philipp Weyer: To be honest, I don't think there was one particular moment. Overall I had a great time and there were lots of fun moments, but I don't think any of them really stands out. Except for my 3x3x3 win, of course!

SK: Thank you for the interview and congratulations once again on this amazing achievement!

Philipp Weyer: Thanks!

Interview by Adam Juszczyński