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Florian Kastenmeier (Germany) is 40, lives in Bavaria and is the owner of a very impressive collection.
Over several years, Florian has assembled the largest collection of rotating puzzles in the world, counting a whopping number of 1,519 puzzles of all shapes and sizes.
His pieces range from classic Rubik's cubes to colorful ones in the shape of balls, houses and even fruit.
Florian's house in Mindelheim has a whole room dedicated to just his puzzles, although he thinks the room is getting too small for the continuously growing collection.
The lack of space doesn't deter him, however, and he keeps searching for the rarest and most interesting pieces with his wife and his children.
His family and friends are supportive of his hobby, and have celebrated with Florian the special moment of seeing his name printed in the Guinness World Records 2023 book.
"It's incredible. A great feeling," Florian says regarding his record title.
"Knowing that you've achieved something that nobody had done before you is incredible."
Florian’s passion for collecting rotating puzzles began like many other incredible stories: by coincidence.
Although he used to own some Rubik's cubes as a child, he couldn’t solve them and often lost interest in the puzzles.
But that all changed 16 years ago, when Florian found an old Rubik’s cube in the attic while moving house.
It was likely one of those very cubes he had disregarded as a child and that had been abandoned for years. Now, however, the puzzle presented a whole new challenge.
"I just had to solve it," Florian recalled.
"I was so excited that I found myself needing more and more of it. New cubes, new challenges."
In general, Florian prefers the vintage puzzles from the '80s to the modern ones. He believes that "the older puzzles have a story and a character."
"The new ones are usually only cheap mass goods," he says.
"That's why I don't just have cubes made of plastic. I also have some made of metal, or I especially like my cubes made of wood."
A notable item in Florian’s collection, for example, is a tennis ball-shaped rotating puzzle.
He received it from tennis champion Boris Becker during the German retro-show Die 80er.
Becker, among other accolades racked up through the years, won his first Wimbledon title at 17. He followed to win three Wimbledon Championships and an Olympic gold.
It's no surprise, then, that owning a puzzle gifted and signed by the tennis player represents one of the highlights of Florian's collection.
"I'm not a speedcuber and I don't want to be one either," Florian confessed, as he stresses that he's a collector - not a speedcuber.
He has no interest in solving cubes as fast as possible, although he can complete a Rubik's cube quicker than the average person:
"My average is around 44 seconds. I think that's OK for me; I don't have to break every record. Maybe my kids will do that, one day."
As for Florian's thoughts on being featured in Guinness World Records 2023?
"It's so cool!"
Despite the competitive nature of the world of rotating puzzles, where plenty of enthusiasts aim to grow their collections and possibly break a record, Florian has declared that he intends to protect his title for as long as he can.
His collection will continue to grow, and he'll continue to scout for the rarest and most incredible cubes in the world.
Who knows: maybe, next time we speak, Florian will have finally obtained the much coveted prototype cube.
For now, Florian can't believe that people all around the world will see his collection in the pages of the Guinness World Records 2023 book.
"I'm imagining how a guy in New York will pick the book from the shelf, and he'll look at my record and think: Oh, God. That's a crazy cube collector!"
Find Florian's record in Guinness World Records 2023, out now!