WHEN Boots Brandon first got to know Margielyn Didal, she was selling pancit canton in Cebu’s Concave Street Park.
“Alam mo yung taga-bantay rin ng park, tapos siya yung taga-luto?” he recalled, laughing. “Tinatawag pa niya akong kuya kasi long hair pa ako nun, at magkapareho ang posture namin ba. Tinutukso kaming magkapatid.”
She was just fifteen or sixteen years old then, Brandon recalled, but he and his band of fellow skaters saw the potential in the young girl when she would borrow their boards and carve through Concave. One of his friends even finally gave Didal her own board.
Didal’s success story is well known — from the daughter of a kwek-kwek street vendor to the country’s top-ranked skateboarder. The 22 year old is widely expected to be part of the Philippine delegation to the Tokyo Olympics.
It will be the first time that skateboarding will appear as a medal event in the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Years after witnessing her roots, Brandon is happy that he’s also contributing in a major way to keeping her Olympic dream alive.
During the pandemic, the 35-year-old skateboarder and tattoo artist was commissioned to construct an indoor skateboard training facility exclusively for Didal’s use.
“Ngayon, overall, I can say na [it’s around] 500 square meters,” Brandon described. “Di ako sure, pero parang first-ever dito sa Cebu na mayroon ganitong skate park: may training facility, may gym, whatever na kailangan ni Marge andito na. Indoor pa, rain or shine pwede kang mag-skate.”
While he had concocted his own homebrew ramps before, Brandon admitted that this is the first time he’s taken on a skate project of this scale.
Red Bull made an official reveal of the skate park today, even releasing a high-octane video of Didal putting it through its paces.
In a phone interview, Brandon walked us through the obstacles. “Binase ko sa mga gusto ni Marge, based sa mga skate park na napuntahan niya all over the world,” he said. “Mostly kasi dito yung mga basic na obstacle. [Pero ito], pang-training talaga siya. We have handrail, may big section, may small section, may centerpiece na what we call the pyramid na obstacle. Tapos mga quarter [half pipe] na.”
While it initially opened early this year, Didal asked for some improvements. On the day SPIN Life gave him a call, Brandon and his team had actually put the final, finishing touches to the custom skate park.
“Perfect spot siya,” he said with satisfaction.
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