Many parents drop hobbies (permanently or temporarily) once they have kids, simply due to the new demands on their time (and the lack of sleep they deal with in those early years).
But Langston Johnson has been able to hone a very specific hobby that also happens to fit in well with his family-centric lifestyle: he’s a speedcuber, and a serious one at that . Speedcubing is a sport that involves solving combination puzzles as quickly as possible, typically using a 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube. He’s a member of the World Cubing Association (WCA) and his personal best official solve time is 10.6 seconds. Yes, you read that correctly — seconds! He hit that personal best back in 2019 and was hoping to blow that record out of the water at the World Championships back in December 2021, but rising COVID cases forced the WCA to cancel the event.
When he’s not solving Rubik’s cubes at the speed of light, Langston leads the Quality Assurance department at Bushel. He and his team ensure the products Bushel builds do what they should through rigorous testing.
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“It's an exciting line of work because you're one of the first people to walk through these virtual construction projects and verify that everything is where it needs to be,” he said. “I also participate in a fair amount of recruitment-related events such as game nights, college fairs and mock interviewing with high school and college students.” He also leads Bushel’s Diversity and Inclusion Group which works to highlight “all of the magnificent people” within the company “while organically generating the one-of-kind culture we've all come to flourish in and enjoy,” he said.
Langston and his wife Bethany (known as “Bethie” to her family and close friends) have been married since 2014 and stay busy raising two sons — Mandela (a.k.a. Manny) is 4 years old and Guion (whom they call Baby Guy) is 2. “My hope is that he will grow up and be referred to as Uncle Baby Guy when Manny has kids!” Langston joked.
All jokes aside, Langston knows raising children is a serious business, and he’s had great role models in his life, especially his father. He’s actually combining the parenting lessons he’s learned with his unique hobby through a plan to give back to kids in his hometown of Minneapolis.
“I plan to spread the good word of cubing everywhere I go, and I even have plans to distribute 500 cubes to children at a Harvest Best Academy in north Minneapolis,” he said. “I plan to teach them all to solve throughout the course of a week, which will culminate in an official competition they could participate in, allowing them to become full-fledged members of the WCA as well.”
Read on to learn more about Langston’s speedcubing journey, his family, and a few more things that make him a rad dad.
How did you end up in the Fargo-Moorhead area?
After graduating from North High in Minneapolis, I came here to study pharmacy at North Dakota State University, and I eventually graduated with a degree in zoology. NDSU was affordable, and far enough away from home that I'd have three hours to get my act together if my mom decided to drop a surprise visit.
What is your educational background?
I ended my formal education with an undergrad degree from NDSU, but I've continued to learn a variety of new things through work and a general curiosity.
Tell me about your family.
Mandela is named after Nelson Mandela, and Guion (pronounced Guy-on) is named after Guion Bluford, the first African American to fly in outer space. Both boys are both extremely inquisitive and love spewing facts to people they meet about dinosaurs and other various creatures. My wife Bethany is an applied behavioral analyst at the North Dakota Autism Center, and we met through a mutual friend in college back in 2011. Bethie and I have been married since 2014, and we've always had a variety of activities that we mutually enjoyed, such as touring breweries (in Washington State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc.), enjoying high-quality food and hitting up a number of concerts and live shows, back when all of that was a thing. As of late, we've greatly enjoyed hangin’ with the Unglued Crew as we've had the opportunity to help out with the facilitation of their Summer Camp and Fall Retreat events this past year.
How did you and your wife meet?
My best friend in college, Ryan, a.k.a. "Farmer", invited me to mug night at The Turf with some people he met through the organization Students Today Leaders Forever. Bethie was there, and four days later we were sitting on a blanket my grandmother made me while reading books, eating Pita Pit, and finishing with Charlie's Ice Cream in Island Park. Little did I know we'd be a legitimate family someday.
Tell me about speedcubing and how you took it up.
All of these questions have been great, this one, in particular, strikes a chord with me. I was first introduced to Rubik's Cubes in 2006 after seeing the iconic solve Will Smith's character Chris Gardener pulls off to get a job while riding in a cab . I was fascinated then and the more I've learned about the cube the more fascinated I've become.
I learned how to solve a cube from one of Tyson Mao's instructional videos and some hints from my old man. I've used it as a recruitment tool with both NDSU and Bushel since then. I spend at least an hour a day solving and learning new techniques, with serious guidance from my coach, Australian sensation Jayden McNeil .
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What has been your greatest parenting lesson?
Be consistent and do what you say you're going to do. My own father, Kevin Johnson, is a stellar example of this for me. I've also gained a lot of insight around gratitude and what it means to be present with your family, and just let whatever is going on happen and wash over you. Not trying to make my own imprint on my children, but instead, empower them to become themselves. Fredrick Douglas says it best, "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men". Benchmarking against other dads is also really important to my strategy, even if that dad is Bandit from “Bluey”!
What are three words you would use to describe yourself?
What do you and your family love to do together?
We love going to parks, visiting the zoo, and occasionally visiting Sky Zone. At home, we play a lot of music on the various xylophones and child-sized drums and guitars strewn about the house. Often I'll just put on some music in the living room and we'll just dance. We also spend a fair amount of time with their five cousins in Grand Forks making a splash at Grandma and Grandpa’s. This year someone mysteriously pulled a towel ring out of the wall, but it was all good, the beef tenderloin and stuffed prawns would not be trounced. I am also greatly looking forward to the boys being able to participate in my mom's summer program at Divine Institute when she teaches children vocabulary and etiquette, but mostly just have a ton of fun at amusement parks and museums.
What's your favorite part about raising a family in Fargo?
There is pretty much always something family-friendly to do (shout out to Folkways), the Horace Mann neighborhood where we live is beautiful, and we're surrounded by great people. What more could you ask for? Warmer weather, maybe!
One word to describe your wife and each son? Bethie: Patience Manny: Inquisitive Guy: Foodie
We're always curious about balance - how do you balance work, family life and hobbies?
Yeah, this is a real fluid sort of tight rope to try and walk. First off, having a solid partner is indispensable. Bethie is very open to allowing me to take time to enjoy my hobbies. I've also just adapted to doing more stuff I can do with the kids around. Cubing is very kid-friendly, and once they're older that's something we can certainly try together in earnest if they're into it. Playing guitar is also pretty simple; I've got an electric drum set and an organ in my basement that they hammer on while I play. Lastly, I recently got the Paw Patrol Game on my PC, which is a fun way to introduce them to the machine I built.
If you could take your family anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
I'd like to take them to Hawaii to see the animals, the ocean, enjoy the food, and culture there. Do some guided fishing and perhaps some snorkeling! Poke bowls and perhaps a pork roast, while also taking some advice from the locals on what they enjoy, that's always a fun vacation rabbit hole to go down no matter where you end up. One activity leads to the other.
What's your favorite part about being a dad?
Having candid conversations with the boys. As we're getting ready in the morning: Manny: You know Daddy, Giganto (Giganotosaurus) has a powerful belly. Me: Yeah, you're right, I'm guessing he does derive a great deal of power from his belly. Manny: You know, Daddy, you TOO have a powerful belly!
As my wife cackles in the next room…
I Livestream Rubik's Cubes on twitch.tv/langstonmandela : come and learn to cube!