I spent lunch today, amongst other things, in WHSmith. I was there looking for a magazine that doesn't exist. Now this at first might seem an odd thing to do, so I shall elaborate. Dawn is subscribed to Glamour magazine, and it is, like most womens mags, about fashion, lifestyle, horoscopes, celebs, agaony aunts, reals life stories, a smattering of men's secrets "revealed" and a famous celeb interview for the front cover. What I was looking for was the male version of this.

Now I'm sure this will cue a barrage of "but r u gay tho?" comments, however I'm serious, what is the equivalent male magazine. I've long been a reader, in my teenage and very early 20s, of FHM. It is a good read, but now I'm married and moving on in my life I'm a bit sick of every mens mag being full of half naked women to sell it to me. What I want is a magazine that is FHM, without the half naked women and emphasis on sex. Some interviews with women would be fine as long as the photography is tasteful. Sections on real life, interviews with interesting men, dvd reviews, film reviews (like Empire), gadget reviews (like T3), music reviews (like Q), food and drink, lifestyle, fashion. The sort of stuff relevant to men, but without having to read 5 different magazines (that go into too much detail) to get all the information I want to know. I did see one mag like this, called Dazed and Confused, but flicking through it I thought the layout was so pretentious and up itself, it wasn't right.

So there's the problem / gap in the market / challenge. Produce a magazine for young men who are fed up with "sex sells mags" that is filled with interesting stuff, and isn't stuck up its own arse. And if you know of such a magazine, let me know!!