Andrew Gardikis

Early Inspiration and First Records

Andrew Gardikis' journey into speedrunning began at age 14 in 2004. The catalyst was watching a speedrun of Super Mario Bros. on the television channel G4TV. This experience gave him a clear goal to beat the classic game as fast as possible. He practiced on a Nintendo Entertainment System console that his older sister had bought in the early 1990s, dedicating himself to mastering its mechanics.

His efforts led to a major milestone. On March 23, 2006, Gardikis uploaded a VHS recording to YouTube that documented a new world record time of 5 minutes and 5 seconds. This video marked his formal entry into the recorded history of speedrunning. The pursuit of a time below five minutes became his primary focus for the next several years.

Breaking the Five-Minute Barrier

In 2011, Andrew Gardikis achieved a landmark feat that had seemed impossible. He uploaded a video showing a completion of Super Mario Bros. in 4 minutes and 59 seconds. This run made him the first known player to officially finish the game in under five minutes, breaking a significant psychological and competitive barrier.

Gardikis held this world record for an unprecedented seven years. This tenure itself became a record for the longest-held top time. Over nine years of active competition on the game, he refined his performance to improve his overall personal best by a total of seven seconds. This incremental progress highlights the extreme precision demanded at the highest level of speedrunning.

Meeting Miyamoto and Community Role

Gardikis' success brought recognition from the highest levels of game development. He received an invitation to meet Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Super Mario Bros. The meeting took place at the Nintendo World Store in New York during the game's 25th anniversary celebration. At the event, Miyamoto watched Gardikis play a live run on the Wii Virtual Console. Gardikis notably wore a Super Mario Bros. 2 shirt for the demonstration.

Within the organized speedrunning community, Gardikis was a member of Team Ludendi, a team composed of dedicated runners. His influence is also reflected in popular speedrunning documentaries. He has been featured extensively in videos by the historian Summoning Salt, appearing in many documentaries about world record progression across different games.

Technical Innovations and Mastery

Analysts credit Andrew Gardikis with pioneering or perfecting several key techniques that became standard for competitive Super Mario Bros. runs. These include the precise wall jump maneuver in level 8-4 and the wrong warp glitch in level 4-2. His mastery of these advanced moves was essential for routing the game efficiently enough to achieve the sub-five-minute time.

His skill was not limited to a single game. Gardikis also set notable records in other classic titles, demonstrating broad expertise. His accomplishments include world records in Track & Field from 1983 and in Super Mario Bros. 2. In March 2015, he achieved a world record in the Fastest Minimalist Completion category for Super Mario World. He also posted a milestone run on Excitebike's Track #1, shaving 2.08 seconds off his own best time to reach 41.61 seconds.

Personal Background and Lasting Impact

Before his speedrunning career, Andrew Gardikis was a runner in athletics, but he had to stop due to lung issues. He later described himself as a full-time college student at age 19, with video game speedrunning as his main focus. He engaged with fans through live streaming on platforms like Twitch, sharing his process and personality.

Fellow runners remember his dominance with great respect. In 2016, speedrunner darbian recalled Gardikis' long reign at the top, also remembering a memorable instance where Gardikis had juggled while playing the game with his feet, an example of his unusual showmanship. With over 20 years in the community, Gardikis remains a major figure whose early achievements, particularly that first sub-five-minute run, set a definitive benchmark that inspired and challenged all who followed.