FTM Magazine
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for products and services. (January 2017) |
| First issue | January 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States of America |
| Based in | Albany, New York |
| ISSN | 2377-7737 |
| OCLC | 904603486 |
FTM Magazine is a company founded in Rochester, New York, then based in Albany, New York, that specifically represented FTM (female to male) trans men. It aimed to be a medium for trans masculine people to read other people's stories and encourage people to share their own. Popular topics included fashion, fitness, community stories, interviews, tips, and reviews.
History
[edit]FTM Magazine was co-founded by Jason Robert Ballard and Leo Reichstetter.[1] It was initially funded through Kickstarter in November 2013, and the first issue was published in 2014.[1] Ballard ran the company independently for the first three years.[citation needed]
In April 2015, the magazine released a photo of model Aydian Dowling recreating the famous Adam Levine mostly-nude photo which was featured in the Cosmopolitan (UK) for testicular and prostate cancer awareness. As a result of this photo's popularity, the magazine launched their clothing line, called This Is What Trans Looks Like.
The October 2017 issue was postponed due to some backlash for being a binary exclusive company,[citation needed] and a funding deficit.[1]
In 2017, FTM Magazine launched Trans Men Magazine, a downloadable magazine with monthly topics, horoscopes, and an advice column.
In 2018, Aidan Faiella took over as CEO of the company.
The magazine stopped publishing online after March 2020.[2] As of July 2025[update], the official website no longer exists.
Issues
[edit]| Date | Theme | Cover Model |
|---|---|---|
| Spring of 2014 | The Founding Issue | Jason Robert Ballard |
| Summer 2014 | Giovanni Carlo | |
| Fall 2014 | The YouTube Issue | Skylar Kergil |
| Winter 2015 | Bodybuilding | Shawn Stinson |
| Spring 2015 | Viral Photo | Aydian Dowling |
| Summer 2016 | Web Series | Seven King, Emmett Jack Lundberg, and Jake Graf |
| Fall 2016 | Documentary: Transgender, At War And Love | Logan Ireland |
| Winter 2016 | Laith Ashley | |
| Spring 2017 | Tiq Milan | |
| Summer 2017 | Malcolm Rene Ribot | |
| Summer 2018 | Hanson Gobron | |
| Fall 2018 | Sir Knight |
Articles
[edit]The founder of FTM Magazine is Jason Robert Ballard. Ballard published an autobiographical article on The New York Times website and wrote about his personal experiences as a trans man. He said his inspiration for the magazine stemmed from the support he received from his own family and friends. He also acknowledged that there is a long way to go as far as visibility and normalization of trans people in the eyes of the public and the media.[3]
On June 23, 2014, an article written by Mitch Kellaway entitled ‘LOOK: Will This Magazine Become the GQ of Trans Men?’ was published on the Advocate website.[4] The article includes an interview in which Ballard discusses his vision for the magazine, and says he noticed that the initial idea came while he was reading GQ magazine, hence the title of the article.[4]
Personnel
[edit]- Jason Robert Ballard - Founder of FTM Magazine
- Aidan Faiella - CEO of FTM Magazine
- Chris Rhodes - Founder of Flavnt, trans clothing company.
- Mason Fitzpatrick - Staff Writer for Trans Men Magazine
- Rory Q. Kelling - Staff Writer for Trans Men Magazine
- Coach Cody - Staff Writer for Trans Men Magazine
- Transformation Coach Cody - Staff Writer for Trans Men Magazine
- Isaac Volbrecht - Staff Writer for Trans Men Magazine, Monthly Horoscopes
- Malcolm R Ribot - FTM Traveler
- Dani Farrell - Writer for FTM Magazine. Founder of Trans In Color and TBuddy.
- Maxwell Hunter
- Dash Hudson
- Guest Writers - Many of the articles published in FTM Magazine are written by guest writers. There are open submissions for guest writers to submit their writing, which is then edited and published.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lee, Yuri (November 30, 2017). "Magazine co-founder, publisher talks transgender issues". Pipe Dream. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ^ "FTM Magazine". FTM Magazine. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ^ The New York Times (December 18, 2016). "Transgender Lives: Your Stories: Jason Robert Ballard". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ a b "LOOK: Will This Magazine Become the GQ of Trans Men?". June 23, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
External links
[edit]- Official website (Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine)
- https://ftmmag.com (Archived 2017-06-09 at the Wayback Machine)
- This Is What Trans Looks Like
- http://ftmfitnessmagazine.com[permanent dead link]
- http://ballardexclusives.com Archived 2017-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160708201050/http://www.theselfmademen.com/
- http://transmanmagazine.com