Cannonvale’s Ocean and Jack Thomas take on the collectable cards business

Brothers Ocean and Jack have kicked off a collectable card dream business they reckon can ‘beat the Pokemon’ and all it took was a little incentive and big imagination. FIND OUT HOW

School boys Ocean Thomas, 9, and his brother Jack, 6, have started their own collectables business and they have great ambitions for it. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

Nine-year-old Ocean Thomas and his six-year-old brother Jack have started their own collectables business.

Dad Ash challenged the duo to double a sum invested in a project by the end of the year and the idea quickly became a success story.

The brothers decided to create their own set of collectable cards and from the $100 investment their dad put in they imagined and created characters from a special universe.

Through word of mouth and on their website they have created quite a hype, but as the idea grew bigger so did the start up money which increased to $1000.

“We’re already working on the next release,” Ocean said.

“We can beat the Pokemon.”

Their 27 collectable characters, called Fregiebots, evolve in a universe called Akelonu, where they interact in nine teams and all have different stories to tell.

The Fregiebots are characters created from robots merged with fruits.

“We had to create characters with not too much human, but not too much robot,” Ocean said.

“These ones are simple, yet good.”

THE CREATION PROCESS

The brothers, who live in Cannonvale in the Whitsundays region, got the idea for the cards after visiting their cousins, who are big time Pokemon card collectors.

Cannonvale boys Ocean (left) and Jack (right) Thomas are taking on the collectable card business. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

After brainstorming ideas, the brothers pitched their Fregiebots and began coming up with their backstory.

Ash has then helped his sons create digital versions of the characters using a combination of software.

The Fregiebots now have a website which includes a memory game that people can play for free.

There are only 60 copies of each character and customers get a certificate of authenticity with their purchase.

Each of the Fregiebots has a certificate of authentication that comes with buying the card. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

A ‘VERY SERIOUS’ BUSINESS

Ocean explained collectables was a “very serious” business and he and his brother had Friday meetings to discuss how to expand.

No one is giving away any secrets about just how many the duo is racking in. All we know is a full pack retails for $100.

“Most people have bought the full pack,” Ocean said.

“If I meet people, I’ll tell them about it.”

For now, it’s mostly word of mouth, with friends buying the cards, but a number of people they randomly met have bought the full collection as well.

Ocean is good at pitching stories, but Jack sits down with his dad in front of the computer and helps design the characters.

“If we’re not agreeing on something, we move on,” Ocean said.

The two brothers also have their own professional cards and email addresses they are ready to give to anyone interested.

The cards are distributed in nine different teams called The Beach Crew, the Space Team, the Scientists, the Mystics, the Villains, the Scallies, the Performers, the Sports Squad and the Defenders. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

Although the business is so far under their parents’ name, “once the boys are old enough they can take control of it”, dad Ash said.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Ocean and Jack want to be scientists when they grow up, as they would like to make these robots “for real”.

As for the business, they are working on new characters, how to extend their universe, or how they would like to see their characters printed in 3D, or later down the track make a Netflix animation series.

Regardless of the success of their business endeavours, Ash said the boys would definitely learn a lot from this.

“At the very least, after 10 years they’ll know a lot about how to run a business,” he said.

You can check out the Fregiebots at seriouscollectables.com

Originally published as Cannonvale’s Ocean and Jack Thomas take on the collectable cards business