- Margielyn Didal caught the skateboarding bug when she was 12. Now one of Asia's best female skaters, she is training for this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo
- Growing up in Cebu City, the Philippines, she was chased by police for skating illegally on the streets - today they chase her for selfies
It's a sunny Tuesday afternoon and Filipino Margielyn Didal is in her element as she glides effortlessly around the Lai Chi Kok Park Skatepark in Hong Kong.
Just 1.5 metres (5ft 1 inch) tall and weighing 49kg (108 pounds), she is the smallest of the 10 or so skaters navigating the park's ledges, rails and stairs. But don't be fooled by her small stature. This 20-year-old is a skating force to be reckoned with, ranked 12th among the world's female street skateboarders.
In 2018, Didal won a gold medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia, and she scooped another gold the following year at the Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. She is the first Filipino to compete in Street League Skateboarding (in London in 2018) and at the X Games (in the American city of Minneapolis in 2018), an annual extreme sports event hosted by sports channel ESPN.
Now she has her sights on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in July, where skateboarding has been included in the Games for the first time.
If Didal wins, it would be the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. While happy the sport is getting some much deserved attention, Didal says it's not just about medals.
"It's also about the vibe " how the skate community treats each other," says Didal, who has been skating since she was 12. "It's tight and we don't treat opponents as an enemy but treat them as family, as a friend, as a homie."
Didal's ride has not always been smooth. Growing up in Cebu City, she was often chased by gun-toting security guards and police officers for illegally skating in parks, malls and streets. Now they chase her for another reason.
"I got in trouble in the Philippines, where we didn't have a skatepark and you can't skate on the sidewalk, so we would (illegally) skate on the street, but security and police would yell at us and tell us not to skate, and when we didn't stop they pulled their guns," she says, giggling. "But that was before " now they're chasing me for selfies."
Didal's humble family background makes her achievements more inspiring. One of five siblings, she is the daughter of a carpenter, while her mother sells kwek kwek (fried quail eggs) on the streets.
"Growing up with nothing, it makes me want to do good for (my) family," says Didal, who has sponsorship deals with New Balance and Red Bull. "I want to give back to them while I can."
And she has done just that. After her Asian Games victory, Didal received a cash bonus from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that she spent on the family home.
"Most of the money I put it for renovations for the house. We're a big family, we're five siblings. I'm second to last but I'm glad I can help my siblings sometimes," she says.
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While the Philippines is making economic progress, a quarter of its 108 million population still live in poverty.
And like any society where life is a daily struggle, children are the most vulnerable, with poverty affecting directly their physical and intellectual growth. Didal, tears welling up, says she has witnessed that first-hand.
"In the Philippines, I've seen a lot of kids hanging out in the street, doing bad things," she says. "A lot of kids are homeless and (suffer) misfortune, and I want to help them because I grew up in the streets."
Didal wants to use skating to help get kids off the streets. She plans to set up a skate coaching clinic and skatepark and to continue her involvement with programmes to feed the poor. Her philosophy is simple: build the skateparks and they will come " and she is patiently waiting for it to happen.
After Didal's Asian Games gold, Cebu mayor Tomas "Tommy" Osmena pledged to build a skatepark in the city in recognition of her achievements. So far there has been a lot of meetings " "a lot of talking" " but she is hopeful things will move forward after the Olympics.
"There's a lot from the young generation, especially in Cebu, a lot of good skaters, but the thing is we don't have a skatepark," she says.
"It's important for me to use my profile for good because a lot of young kids look up to you and say: 'I want to be like her when I grow up'. It feels amazing," says Didal, who has almost 40,000 followers on Instagram.
While top athletes inspire Didal, it's also those in her tight skating community that motivate her.
"Like those guys over there," she says, pointing to Hong Kong national team coach Warren Stuart and one of her sponsors, Brian Siswojo, of skate shop 8FIVE2. "And of course my coach, Daniel Bautista."
She also has faith in God. And her girlfriend, Jozel, has played a huge supporting role.
The moment you ride a skateboard, it's like you don't think of anything. You just want to ride. You want to enjoy it. The best way to escape problems is through a skateboard. Enjoy and treasure every momentFilipino skateboarder Margielyn Didal
"We've been dating for almost five years, which is exciting. When I had nothing she was also there."
Time magazine has recognised Didal, naming her as one of its 25 most influential teens of 2018. She was in good company. Others on the list that year included climate activist Greta Thunberg, actress Millie Bobby Brown, science whizz Rishab Jain and the K-pop group NCT Dream.
"I was shocked," she says with a laugh. "It was unexpected to go from the Cebu streets, getting chased by security, and now like in 2018 they put me in an international magazine. It's amazing."
Didal says she wants other young people to experience what she feels when she hops on a skateboard.
"The moment you ride a skateboard, it's like you don't think of anything. You just want to ride. You want to enjoy it.
"The best way to escape problems is through a skateboard. Enjoy and treasure every moment."
For those who see skating as a boys' club, Didal has a message about gender barriers.
"I don't really think stuff is like only for dudes or only for girls … no limitations." Age is also no barrier. "In skateboarding, age doesn't matter. Everybody can try it."
Although she sometimes has to pinch herself when she thinks about her journey and the places it has taken her, Didal says her parents initially disapproved of her choice of sport.
"They were really against skateboarding," she says. "They thought it was like, you don't have a future there. They thought it was just a hobby, just for fun. And other people see it in a bad way, that (skaters) are addicts or whatever because we have tattoos, and other stuff. But they don't really know unless they try it and hang out with these guys."
As well as having to defend the sport's image, Didal has had her fair share of injuries, from a fractured collarbone to a sprained ankle.
"And I have a fake tooth here," she says, opening her mouth to reveal a mass of metal, the light reflecting off her dental braces. "I tried some crazy tricks that I suppose I should not have."
Didal's Olympic training has taken her from Rio de Janeiro to Los Angeles. Qualifiers in the Australian city of Melbourne scheduled for next month have been postponed as bush fires continue to ravage parts of the country.
Preparations for Tokyo brought Didal to Hong Kong this month, where she is always impressed with the city's facilities.
"This new skatepark at Mei Foo is amazing," she says of the 1,600 square metre park that opened in November last year, the city's first international-standard skate plaza.
"So yeah, being here in Hong Kong, I enjoy it. It's easy to go to different places with a train, no traffic, no pollution, you know, and I'm enjoying this amazing park."
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