Margielyn Arda Didal (born April 19, 1999) is a Filipino professional street skateboarder. She will make her video game debut in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4.
Origin[]
Didal in 2021.
Margielyn hails from Cebu City, Philippines and was born to a poor family, her father Lito working as a carpenter and her mother Julie a sidewalk vendor selling "kwek-kwek", a snack made from boiled quail eggs fried to a batter colored with annatto powder. Didal started skateboarding with friends at the now-closed Concave Park in Cebu, later struggling to find suitable skate spots while contending with police and security who often apprehended them for practicing in the streets and abandoned areas. Didal's parents were initially skeptical of her pursuing a career as a skateboarder out of concern for her education, as they were under the impression that skateboarding is a pointless pursuit with a dim future for those practicing it, but later supported her decision soon after Didal rose through the ranks.
She approached Daniel Bautista, who would later be her coach in the 2018 Asian Games, and borrowed boards from Bautista's friends. Bautista said that Didal became better than boys in her area and he recognized her talent. In 2012, Didal started to compete in local tournaments in Cebu City, particularly those organized by Jeson L. Guardo of G-Concepts, in Barangay Tisa in Cebu City.
Didal later rose to fame when she started competing in tournaments such as Street League Skateboarding and the 2020 Summer Olympics where she represented her home country and took a selfie with Tony Hawk in a viral social media post. Her life and career was also dramatized in an episode of the long-running drama anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya (Would You Remember?, abbreviated as MMK), where Didal is portrayed as having taken up various odd jobs such as a newspaper vendor and parking attendant to help make ends meet for her family before discovering the sport.
Trivia[]
- Didal is technically the second Filipino pro skater to be featured in the Tony Hawk's franchise; Lizzie Armanto is of partial Filipino descent through her maternal grandfather.
- She is also the fifth LGBTQ+ skateboarder to appear in the series, after Elissa Steamer, Jason Ellis, Vanessa Torres and Leo Baker.
Gallery[]
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 characters |
|---|
| Starters: Tony Hawk • Lizzie Armanto • Leticia Bufoni • Bob Burnquist • Steve Caballero • Kareem Campbell • Rune Glifberg • Nyjah Huston • Tyshawn Jones • Eric Koston • Bucky Lasek • Bam Margera • Rodney Mullen • Chad Muska • Aori Nishimura • Andrew Reynolds • Geoff Rowley • Elissa Steamer • Jamie Thomas • Andy Anderson • Chloe Covell • Margielyn Didal • Jamie Foy • Aurélien Giraud • Yuto Horigome • Rayssa Leal • Nora Vasconcellos • Zion Wright
Unlockable: Wireframe Tony • Doom Slayer (Digital Deluxe Edition DLC) • Revenant (Digital Deluxe Edition DLC) |