About Me

Gus showing his phone with a picture of himself
This makes for a really, fun but mildly chaotic Zoom background

A Brief History

I was born and raised in Massachusetts about twenty minutes west of Boston. In elementary school, I spent my summers at circus camp where I learned to ride a unicycle, walk on stilts, a variety of other skills generally requiring a large soft pad at the bottom, and failing to figure out how to juggle. In fourth grade, I got so frustrated that I did a project on juggling so that I knew exactly what to do, but I’ve still never been able to get my hands to move the right way. During the fall and winter months, I did ballet and danced in a production of The Nutcracker. It was during our downtime then that I first learned to solve a Rubik’s cube. In middle school, I took part in an archery club after school and eventually began to mentor younger students and carried that on through high school. My junior year of high school, I help start the VEX robotics team and went to World Championships. I also became involved in TV production and joined the local channel.
Gus in stage makeup for The Nutcracker with a Rubik's Cube in 2009
A backstage photo from The Nutcracker (2009)

After graduating high school in 2015, I launched the archery program at a summer camp in Canada and designed and built a modular Gaga pit. (Gaga is sort of like a dodgeball battle-royale that you may recognize from an episode of Bob’s Burgers). I spent the next few years working at a Starbucks where I won my store’s Barista Championship in 2018 and 2019. During my time with the company, I quickly learned all the recipes and became one of the fastest and most reliable baristas in the store. Because of my knowledge and reliablity, I was asked to become a Barista Trainer and helped train baristas, supervisors, and store managers from across the district.
Gus working at Starbucks in 2017
Working at Starbucks (2017)


I attended Florida Poly from Fall 2018 and graduated in May 2022. You can learn more about my time at Florida Poly and projects here. You can learn more about what I’ve been up to since graduating by taking a peek at my LinkedIn, looking at my résumé, or just asking me.

Selected Interests

R for Data Science Online Learning Community

I’ve become quite active in the very long named R for Data Science Online Learning Community. I participate in several book clubs ranging across a variety of data science related topics. I am also honored to be considered a community mentor and do my best to answer a variety of questions from other community members about R, statistics, data science, and other associated topics.

Biking 🚴‍♂️🚵‍♂️

Many years ago, there was a summer that I was on my bike so much that I didn’t even take my helmet off for meals. While my passion for biking certainly hasn’t waned, I don’t have as much time as I did when my biggest worries were making it home before dark. Until I moved to Florida, I volunteered for many years with the Pan-Mass Challenge, first as a tire pumper and then a mechanic as I developed my skills. More recently, I started a small mountain biking YouTube channel that I update when I can. I also participated in the 2021 Horrible Hundred and it was exactly as horrible as you might imagine.

Speedsolving

When someone sees you with a Rubik’s cube and asks if you can solve it, they almost never expect to be told, “Give me 15 seconds” and then presented with a solved cube. I have a relatively small collection of puzzles and enjoy the zen mindset that can be found from practicing. I’m rather pleased with my competition results and have some of my solves on camera on a YouTube channel. I’m hoping to get out to competitions a bit more so I can update everyone with all the progress I’ve made. Within the community, I served on the WCA Communications Committee for a brief period, have helped staff a variety of competitions, and even organized my own competition in my hometown called Framingham Frozen Fingers.

Recommendations from Friends

“Gus is one of the most dependable and consistent people I have ever known.” – Melia R
“You can always rely on Gus to burn his food” – Izzy Z
“This is a guy that knows the guy you need for whatever it is you need” – Tucker M-S
“Lemme think about it” – Macy L
“Gus is a kind cat dad, a zealous Advent of Code advocate, and a thoughtful friend” – Isabel Z
“Gus Lipkin, in the many the years I’ve known him, has enough resourcefulness and preparation skills in him to do the work of a dozen people” – Chris H