WHAT began as a teenage hobby that saw her mocked and made to feel unwelcome has become a life-changing business venture for Ipswich entrepreneur Jade Rall.
Nearly two decades after walking into Brisbane gaming nights as the only girl in a room full of boys, Ms Rall is now calling the shots at Side Quest Cards, her newly opened trading card and gaming store at Yamanto Central Shopping Centre.
“When I was 17, I would go along to the card nights and I was basically the only girl in a room full of boys. Some of them really didn’t like me being there,” Ms Rall said.
“I was teased, given a hard time and made to feel like I didn’t belong, so I learnt pretty quickly that if I wanted to play, I had to stand up for myself.
“It could have made me walk away, but it did the opposite. It made me more determined, and nearly two decades later I’m opening a business around something I’ve loved since I was a teenager.”
Now in her mid-30s, Ms Rall has transformed her years of collecting, trading and playing Magic: The Gathering into more than just a pastime.
“People outside the trading card community can be surprised by how serious collecting can become. I have spent years learning, collecting, trading and understanding cards and that passion ultimately helped me buy my first home,” she said.
“I’ve gone from having to prove I deserved a seat at the table to building my own table, and now everyone is welcome to sit at it.”
For Ms Rall, the opening represents more than a business milestone but an opportunity to show young women that their ambitions should never be limited by the attitudes of others.
“I’ve learnt that sometimes the thing people make fun of you for can become the thing that changes your life,” she said.
“At 17, I had two choices. I could decide I wasn’t welcome and stop turning up, or I could keep turning up and make them get used to me being there.
“I kept turning up.”
Jade’s Blind Ranking
- Magic: The Gathering: with a global competitive scene and an extensive collector market.
- Pokémon: A worldwide collecting phenomenon with enormous demand for rare cards, booster packs and special editions.
- Disney Lorcana: A collectible card game featuring Disney characters, attracting both competitive players and collectors.
- One Piece: A rapidly growing collectible game based on the internationally successful franchise.
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: A long-running Japanese trading card game.
- Star Wars: Unlimited: A collectible game featuring iconic Star Wars characters, locations and battles.
- Dragon Ball Super: Fusion World: A competitive trading card game featuring characters and battles from the Dragon Ball universe.
- Riftbound: League of Legends Trading Card Game: A physical collectible game based on the popular League of Legends universe.
- Union Arena: A Japanese trading card game featuring characters from popular anime and entertainment franchises.
- Flesh and Blood: A fantasy trading card game with an expanding international community.
