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.
FTM Magazine was co-founded by Jason Robert Ballard and Leo Reichstetter. It was initially funded through Kickstarter in November 2013, and the first issue was published in 2014. Ballard ran the company independently for the first three years.
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, and a funding deficit.
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. , the official website no longer exists.
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.
On June 23, 2014, an article written by Mitch Kellaway entitled âÂÂLOOK: Will This Magazine Become the GQ of Trans Men?â was published on the Advocate website. 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.