NOT many people can say they truly turned a bad experience into a good one, unlike 19 year old James Ball.

Incessant bullying at school about his love of trading card games, forced him to set up an out-of-school club which has now evolved into a successful business.

The teenager is the owner of six clubs across south Essex that invites people of all ages to go along and pit their wits against eachother, trade and buy new cards.

"It started because I used to play all the games in school," he says. "But I used to get bullied a heck of a lot and so do most people who like this sort of thing, so I decided to start my own club."

Gillatt Games, as James' company is called, started off with one club and around five members just over a year ago. Today he owns and runs six clubs and has around 40 members.

So lucrative is his venture, it's poised for national and international attention and is supporting James financially.

"It's spread by word of mouth," he says. "Now it's the biggest club in Essex at the moment and we want to open more."

Anyone aged eight upwards are invited to the clubs for a fee of £10 a year or £5 for a one off evening.

Members huddle together around tables to have a game, trade cards or buy from James' reduced price stall of goodies.

"We play Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering, World of War Craft," says James, who presides over the club games to makesure there's no cheating and that everyone knows the rules.

"It's a mix between normal card games and something like chess. They're strategy games. You have to think about timing. But another element of the cards is the trading - some people are avid collectors."

With the onslaught of games consoles and computerised fun, cards like these that were once the mainstay of the playground, died a death and became very uncool. But things are starting to change.

"It's very much come back into fashion," says James. "Most people in the country gave it up, but then about two years ago it started to become popular again. It's taking off here and it's getting bigger and bigger. It's very big in Japan."

Although James' clubs are mostly full of you youngsters, he does have members that are in their Fourties and it's not hard to see why.

"There are tournaments around the country where you can win up to £10,000," says James. "It really gives people a buzz to win. We have inter-club competitions where we give away boxes or packs of cards of limited editions and champion packs."

But it's not just about having fun, says James.

"We want people to see it's educational," he explains. "I know people that have learnt to read from playing it and you have to use your mind a lot as it's all about strategy."

Getting involved is relatively inexpensive as you can start with just one pack of cards. The club promotes a friendly atmosphere with a fully stocked tea bar, so no need for dry mouths when the pressure is on to beat your opponent.

James' clubs are dotted all over south Essex including Pitsea, Shoebury, South Woodham Ferrers, Westcliff, Hadleigh and Wickford and he has capitalised on the growing popularity of the games with his business.

Now there's only one person laughing out loud about the card games and that's James himself, not the bullies.

To find out more about the clubs, contact James on 01702 334798 or 07982 504464.