- I want people to know that they can do it
especially like black girls and girls in general.
Like you can do anything you put your mind to
but if you see me
and I'm doing it then
it makes people feel more comfortable
to know that they can.
That's why the representation does matter a lot.
- You were the first black female Red Bull player.
Can you explain what that means?
- What that means for me is
it was just another day of me doing what I loved
being that representation is very important.
It's something that I always
was taught about growing up like
you could do anything you wanted
as long as you put in the work
and seeing people who look like you
doing those things.
It definitely motivated me as a child.
So for me to be that,
that representation
something that I've always wanted to see
anyway in this space.
And then I can be that example for myself and for others.
It's exciting,
sometimes a little overwhelming
but I think I'm stepping into it quite well.
- It hasn't always been easy
and still really isn't for women in gaming
with it comes a lot of hate
and abuse.
How have you been able to deal with that?
And do you think it's changing?
- I've had to create my own space,
my own community,
a space where the people respect me,
my opinions
and my experiences,
and they don't invalidate them.
But also I'm very vocal
when things happen.
I bring attention to it.
I talk about it and post on my social media
and I talk about solutions.
I also make sure I'm a part of that solution.
- Do you think that's one of the reasons
we don't see more black professional female gamers.
- When a space is more hostile
and it's not welcoming to
different walks of life who come in,
it makes it hard for the people who come in to
fully enjoy it.
They don't feel welcomed.
It's hard to learn and to grow
and evolve in a space.
If you feel at every turn you're not welcomed or wanted
but I think it's slowly getting better because
there are more spaces
that are catering towards that.
Being that safe space.
- When did you first realize,
wow I'm good at this
so good,
I can make it my career.
- It was my final semester of college,
it was 2018,
and I was still competing, but it was very on and off
school was the main focus
I was asked to play on television
for E League.
I had never done anything like that.
Nothing on that scale.
It was exciting.
I proved something to myself that I didn't know I could do.
I was performing under pressure,
like serious pressure
because people were watching too,
and it was recorded
and it was on this huge stage.
Nothing I was used to
after the whole thing was said and done,
I was like wow, I did that.
And I think that really proved to me like
if I wanted to do this full time
I definitely could, because I had the potential.
- In 2021, you were featured on a Twitch billboard.
How exciting was that?
What did you think when you saw your mug
on a huge billboard in Times Square?
- I was in disbelief at first,
but I was like I can't believe
I've gotten to this point.
This is like the biggest milestone ever.
It's a fighting game player
being on a billboard
in Times Square
because the fighting game community is so like niche
for us to get those kinds of opportunities
are not as often.
So to see my face,
my brown skin,
my hair it was very curly at the time
but I'm a black woman representing that
on that Twitch billboard.
And,
I was nothing but proud.
- Who was an ally for you, Jeannail
as you pursued your career in gaming?
- I have so many Katie,
some of the friends that I made
when I first started going to local tournaments,
but also my manager
Emily from EQNX Gaming.
She has been my mentor for many years,
three, four years.
And I couldn't have done this without her.
She's definitely an ally of mine as well.
I want people to know that they can do especially like
black girls and girls in general.
Like you can do anything you put your mind to
but if you see me
and I'm doing it
then it makes people feel more comfortable
to know that they can.
It's why the representation does matter alot.
- Why in your view has gaming gotten so incredibly popular?
- Well gaming has so many genres, right?
And there's so many stories to be told
within each genre.
And there's literally a genre for everybody.
So say if you're not super competitive
or you don't wanna see something that's really bloody
maybe you wanna play something that's a little more calming.
You have games like Animal Crossing
which allows you to be in a town
and interact with the people in the town.
And you have games like Call of Duty,
which the shooter games.
And there are also games like Resident evil
that are horror based
but there's something for everybody.
- And you don't have the imposter syndrome
when you're gaming.
- No,
when I'm gaming especially
when I'm in the zone
there's that sweet spot that zone that gamers,
especially competitors we'd be hit
where nothing else matters.
We see everything that's coming.
- Jeannail tell me how you got into gaming
in the first place.
- I started off very young
playing games with my father.
My dad was such a huge gamer
when my dad would play.
I was so interested.
The colors, the sounds, the characters,
it drew me in
being able to share that with my dad
is what brought me to this career that I have now.
And he was like my first real opponent.
And so I'm trying to beat him
and I just start crying.
I'm so upset 'cause I wanna win.
And he's like,
instead of crying practice
you wanna beat me learn.
Then it really just fueled this competitive drive in me.
As long as I can put in the time and the effort.
I can be as good as I wanna be at anything.
I think we bonded over it a lot
because it's something we we both loved
exploring the stories together
the characters,
having the same reactions,
playing a game like that for the first time.
I think that's why we're so close even to this day.
And we still play games together.
- Can you explain what Tekken is?
- Tekken is a popular fighting game franchise.
It started in the early nineties.
There's tons of different fighting styles.
There's variety
and it's expanded over years
and it's actually well loved for one of those reasons.
- Tell me about the characters you play with
and why you chose them.
- The characters I play with are Ling Xiaoyu
and Alisa Bosconovitch.
So I play with them because
I love their personalities.
I love that at first they look innocent
which gives the perception that maybe they're not as deadly
but it's so wrong because
they are some of the most evasive
deadliest characters in the game.
You could do anything you wanted
as long as you put in the work
and seeing people who look like you
doing those things.
It definitely motivated me as a child.
So for me to be that representation,
something that I've always wanted to see
anyway in this space.
And then I can be that example for myself and for others.
It's exciting.
[upbeat music]