Julia Burch, the internet’s ‘gamer girlfriend’ with two million followers, reveals her real passion isn’t the spotlight — it’s collecting Pokémon cards, one now worth over $4,300
She has built an online following of millions as a gaming personality, but Julia Burch says the hobby that truly defines her is one many fans never expect: collecting Pokémon cards.
The 25-year-old Canadian creator, now based in Los Angeles, describes herself as a self-confessed introvert who spends most of her free time gaming, organizing her collection, and studying German.
“I’ve always been a huge Pokémon fan since as far as I can remember,” said Burch, who has about two million followers on Instagram. “It was my whole personality as a kid – I always loved it.” Her enthusiasm has grown into a sizable collection.
“I’ve spent a lot of money but I now have thousands of Pokémon cards that I own,” she said. “A lot of guys are shocked when they realise I’m genuinely this nerdy.”
Burch also treats some of the rarer cards as investments. “I bought a rare, expensive one that will increase in value,” she said.
“It’s a ‘PSA 10’, which in the world of Pokémon means it’s the best condition it can be. It’s a Moonbreon from Evolving Skies and I bought it about a year ago for $2,700 (£2,000) but it’s already worth over $4,317.”
A cosplay fan, Burch enjoys dressing up as characters from the franchise.
“My twin sister and I dressed up as Pokémon trainers Jesse and James before, and I’ve done Gengar cosplay as well as Umbreon – the evolution of Eevee,” she said. She named Bulbasaur and Chimchar as her favorite Pokémon.
She also recalled the craze around the Pokémon Go mobile game.
“It was a really nice excuse to go out and get some exercise and just hang out with friends,” she said. “It was really fun… except for when it’s really cold, because I played it a lot when I still lived in Canada and in the winter it was freezing.”
Homeschooled alongside her twin sister until high school, Burch has taught herself foreign languages.
“I tried Japanese at first, but I think it was more than I could handle at the time – learning a new language is hard and Japanese specifically is really difficult,” she said.
She settled on German after visiting the country. “I really liked the culture and the language, so I decided to just learn it.”
“I learn new vocabulary every day, I watch all my shows in German, and I even have my phone set to German,” she said. “I fell in love with the process of learning – I don’t feel like I have to do it, it’s my choice.”
Burch hopes to add Japanese and Spanish next. “A lot of my fan base is in Mexico, so that would be very cool.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.themirror.com ’
