“The Good Men Project is a glimpse of what enlightened masculinity might look like in the 21st century,” the press raved when we launched. Finally, “a cerebral, new media alternative” to glossy men’s magazines. In fact, The Good Men Project is not so much a magazine as a social movement. We are fostering a national discussion centered around modern manhood and the question, “What does it mean to be a good man”?
The Good Men Project was founded by Tom Matlack in 2009 as an anthology and documentary film featuring men’s stories about the defining moments in their lives. The original, modest goal, was to tell stories about men that “changed the writer and changed the reader.” In the process, it became apparent that this book was fostering a much-needed cultural conversation about manhood. The Good Men Foundation was launched, and proceeds from the book were used to support organizations that help at-risk boys. Since that time, The Good Men Project has grown into a diverse, multi-faceted media company and an idea-based social platform.
We are a community of 21st Century thought leaders around the issue of men’s roles in modern life. We explore the world of men and manhood in a way that no media company ever has, tackling the issues and questions that are most relevant to men’s lives. We write about fatherhood, family, sex, ethics, war, gender, politics, sports, pornography, and aging. We shy away from nothing. Our content reflects the multidimensionality of men — we are alternatively funny and serious, provocative and thoughtful, earnest and light-hearted. We search far and wide for new stories and new voices from “the front lines of modern manhood.” And we do it without moralizing and without caricaturizing our audience; we let guys be guys, but we do it while challenging confining cultural notions of what a “real man” must be.
Guys today are neither the mindless, sex-obsessed buffoons nor the stoic automatons our culture so often makes them out to be. Our community is smart, compassionate, curious, and open-minded; they strive to be good fathers and husbands, citizens and friends, to lead by example at home and in the workplace, and to understand their role in a changing world. The Good Men Project is a place where that happens. We’re glad to have you along for the ride.
♦◊♦
Some of Our Most Popular Stories Of All Time:
Confronting Life by Aaron Gouveia
Sir, Can You Help Me With This? by Tom Forrister
Why I Don’t Want to Talk About Race by Steve Locke
She’s the One by Tom Matlack
I Used to Stand in Dark Alleys and Say “Kiss Me” by Lisa Hickey
I Blow-dry My Son’s Hair by Todd Mauldin
Out of Sync by Helen Peppe
Why Do We Demonize Men Who Are Honest About Their Sexual Needs? by Clarisse Thorn
Mostly Straight, Most of the Time by Ritch Savin-Williams
The Male Body: Repulsive or Beautiful? by Hugo Schwyzer
The Sexual Revolution: A Personal History by Curtis Smith
What Your Marriage Needs to Survive by SPSMM
Not Now, Honey. I’m Late for Gay Softball by Henry P. Belanger
Inside a Strip Club by Tom Matlack
Why Women Aren’t Crazy by Yashar Ali
Grieving in the Facebook Age by Katie Baker
The Best Gay Books of All Time, Chosen by the Best LGBT Writers Edited by Benoit Lewis
When Playboy Bunnies Ruled by Lili Bee
Undercover at a Christian Gay-to-Straight Conversion Camp by Ted Cox
Comic Rob Delaney on Porn, Sobriety, Twitter, and Feminism by Josh Tyson
Have You Seen My Mangina? by Tom Matlack
The Good Men Project on the air and in the news:
Publisher Lisa Hickey talks about what it means to be a good man on 89.5 FM in Chicago.
Former editor Benoit Denizet-Lewis talks about The Good Men Project, and our special feature on good politicians, on WCCO in Minneapolis.
Former Senior Editor Henry P. Belanger talks good politicians on Fox 25 News in Boston.
The Chicago Tribune profiles Tom Matlack and The Good Men Project.
On the day of our launch, Mediaite had this to say.
The New York Observer profiles us in a feature about the new trend of thoughtful men’s magazines.
The Boston Globe writes about us, and photographs our leadership team on top of a building.
Ms. Magazine loves us.
♦◊♦
Masthead
Founder
Tom Matlack
Publisher, CEO Good Men Media, Inc.
Lisa Hickey
lisa@goodmenproject.com
Editor-In-Chief
Noah Brand
Senior Editors
Joanna Schroeder, Justin Cascio, Marcus Williams
Editor-At-Large and Content Strategist
Jackie Summers
Good Feed Blog
Jamie Reidy and Joanna Schroeder
Sports Editors
Oliver Bateman oliver.lee1@gmail.com
Tom Ley leyt345@gmail.com
Jp.pelosi jp.pelosi@gmail.com
Fiction Editor
Matthew Salesses
Assistant Editor
Selah Woody
Social Media and Outreach
Jack Varnell
Community Relations
Julie Gillis
Sales / Marketing Manager
Nicole Johnson
nicole@goodmenproject.com
Editorial and Community Assistant
Jasmin Nazarian
Technology Consultant
Marcus Williams
Technology
John Hawkins, 9seeds
Original site design thanks to John Guilfoil
Special thanks to Stephen Sheffield photography
- For editorial and content-sharing inquiries, or to advertise, contact Lisa Hickey at lisa@goodmenproject.com. Click here for our media kit.
- To be considered as an ongoing columnist, dazzle us with your idea.
- Want to submit a post to The Good Men Project? Click here.
- Want to be an intern at The Good Men Project? Email Lisa Hickey here.
- Want to be a good man? Sorry, there’s no email for that. You can just flounder around like the rest of us.
























“I spent years in confusion that led me to ask awkward even wholly inappropriate questions at the wrong moments…”
This is a comment by James on the post “What Happens When We Don’t Teach Our Boys About Sex”.