Did you know you can break a world record with everyday objects that we all have at home?
For example, you could become a cup stacking legend, like Ian! 😎
Chan Keng Ian, a talented teen from Malaysia, blew everyone away on the set of our Italian TV series Lo Show dei Record, when he achieved the world’s fastest time tocomplete 30 individual 3-6-3 sports stacking stacks – 1 minute and 21.63 seconds!
And what is 3-6-3? Well, it stands for the sequence of 3 sets of cups, the first and last sets have 3 cups each, whilst the one in the middle consists of 6 cups.
See him in action. 👇🏼
How does he do it?!
We met with him backstage to find out all his secrets… and share them with you, of course!
But first things first – when and how did he start?
“I just turned 18,” Ian told us, “and I started when I was 7, so 11 years ago. Usually from the age of 7 to 12, that’s when schools teach you cup stacking and that’s how people get into it.”
Apparently, it's common to teach cup stacking in Malaysian schools!
“Our coach has made it a really normal thing. He’s going around every single school trying to get stacking into the curriculum.”
Now THAT is a fun school subject. 🤩
According to Ian, cup stacking “helps with hand-eye coordination, and that really helps with academics as well.”
So what inspired him to take his hobby to the next level?
“When I was playing with my friends I realized that I was quite ahead of the competition.
“And so I decided to try and find people who actually train and just compete with them and see where I stand among them.
“And it became a really fun thing to do! I love competing and just slowly climbing the ladder all the way up to number one."
Playing fair and trying your best when you compete with others helps you get better at things and feel proud of yourself.
That’s why healthy competition can be a good thing! 💪
💡 Okay, so now it’s time for some valuable advice from the sport stacking pro…
According to Ian, the 3 main things you need to succeed are:
- Start off with passion. You really need to love what you do!
- Put in the hard work. Practise as much as you can.
- Talent. Speed stacking is a very unique sport and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea (get it? 🤪)
Overall, Ian’s TOP tips are:
- Put the cups closer together before you stack them – it will save you some valuable seconds!
- Try to control your nerves – you can’t succeed if your hands are shaking!
- Start with your dominant hand – right if you’re right-handed, left if you’re left-handed!
And remember – don’t expect to be the best straight away!
It takes patience to reach the top. 🏆
You can find out more about the skills involved in Ian’s record, and how he became a pro sport stacker through our series The One Thing on Da Vinci.
Congratulations, Ian, you are Officially Amazing! 🥳
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