Carston Hendricks of Battle Ground, who can solve cube puzzles in seconds, is using his skills to help raise money to fight cancer
In competition, Carston Hendricks gets 15 seconds to look at the cube.
He can’t make any moves during this time.
Just inspect the puzzle.
Then it’s go-time.
Hendricks, a third-grader at Daybreak Primary School in Battle Ground, is thriving in the cubing world.
Think Rubik’s Cube. Then think of how impressed you are when you see someone solve that puzzle in seconds.
That’s Carston Hendricks. His best time? 11.09 seconds.
His eyes are focused. His fingers are in constant motion. One can almost see his mind at work.
The constant clicking sounds like a photographer snapping photo after photo with an old-school camera.
Click. Click. Click. One more click, and there it is, finished.
This month, Carston is using his passion for cubing for a good cause, hoping to raise money for the 5 for the Fight, a nonprofit that invites everyone to give $5 for the fight against cancer.
With Carston, there is a bit of a discount.
“I’m raising money for cancer research centers,” Carston said. “For every $3 I will solve one of these (cubes) and post the video on the Instagram.”
Carston’s mom and dad, Ashil and Taylor, might use time-lapse videography and post them all together. Or, perhaps, Carston will give a shout-out to a donor, announcing this cube is for that person.
Carston said it makes him feel good to help others.
This is all came from an assignment at school. Carston and his classmates were asked to do something positive for other people.
The Hendricks family used to live in Utah. The NBA’s Utah Jazz support 5 for the Fight, wearing the charity’s logo on their jerseys.
“Basketball is our sport,” Carston said, looking at his dad, noting that even though they live in the Northwest now, they remain dedicated to the Jazz.. “We decided to go with the site that they use.”
Carston and family have put their project on GoFundMe. (https://www.gofundme.com/f/cubing-for-a-cause?qid=d9865f23ce228bf986aae5efd1ccecf9)
They are accepting donations through Saturday. The plan is for Carston to solve all the puzzles for each donation on Sunday. Then the video will be posted on his Instagram page: @notsrac_cubing
He noted that he is proud of all of his classmates, too. They are all doing something for someone. One classmate, for example, is asking for donations of pet food in order to give to a pet shelter.
For Carston, this was a chance to shine a spotlight on his favorite team’s charity as well as showcase his own passion.
It was last summer when Carston saw videos on YouTube, experts quickly solving cubes.
“I think that would be something I could try,” Carston said. “I told my parents. Dad learned how to solve it. He taught me. I just got a lot faster, and I started learning a lot more tricks.”
He was hooked.
“I got my first under-1-minute solved, and I thought, ‘Yes, I think I can get really fast at this.’ Little did I know there are speed methods out there that you can do. It was around that time, I figured it out.”
Carston has entered competitions, too. There is a whole world of cubing, with different puzzles, with competitors using their own lingo.
There are times when cubing is all Carston can think about, even in class.
“Somehow I manage to listen very closely in school and still be thinking about, ‘Is this combination on the cube possible?’”
