It takes testosterone? Launching the country's first regional men's lifestyle magazine.

• Position: Opener - Indy Men's Magazine

Is it another victory for the equal-rights movement? After years of reading a local publication for members of the opposite sex, central Indiana men finally have their own magazine.

The first issue of Indy Men's Magazine hit the streets in late August with the cover sporting the likeness of Tom Griswold, half of the Indianapolis-based, nationally syndicated morning radio team Bob and Tom.

Beginning in November, the publication will appear monthly, distributed free to a growing list of central Indiana males who've been waiting for their gender's equivalent to the monthly Indianapolis Woman, published since the early-'90s.

But that's not really the way the people behind Indy Men's Magazine view their product. It's the localization of a national trend, says editor Lou Harry. "We think we'll become the Midwest equivalent to Esquire and Men Journal."

Not sure the Midwest was eagerly awaiting a regional equivalent of the national men's mags? Neither was Todd Tobias, president of Table Moose Media LLC. Tobias knew there was no other publication like it in the country. Fortunately, with the deep pockets of Tobias' father--retired Eli Lilly CEO Randall Tobias--some careful market research could be done.

The Tobiases were not discouraged when they learned that men's magazine circulation was lower than average in central Indiana, because they had a good idea of what the problem was. "They're not speaking to Hoosier men," Todd Tobias says. "A lot of the national men's magazines tend to focus on the Hollywood celebrity du jour and men's high fashion. Our guys would rather read about (Indianapolis Colts coach) Tony Dungy."

That's not to say that Indy Men's Magazine is catering to an unsophisticated crowd. There's a Rolex watch in a back-cover ad, a spread depicting one local man's 3,000-bottle wine collection, a short piece of fiction, even a sophisticated...