We would love to share with you a brand new print magazine for boys that has recently launched! 

Roughhouse Magazine was founded by homeschool graduate Dominic Andres and is meant “to give boys something real and substantial to read, something that grounds them in the world and develops their character.” Each issue focuses on History & Adventure, Science & Mechanics, and Games & Fun (no computers/internet needed!). 

You can read more about Roughhouse Magazine, view sample issues, and subscribe right here on their website - www.roughhousemag.com. 

Check out the featured interview we had with Dominic below!

1. Tell us about Roughhouse Magazine!

Roughhouse Magazine, to give our basic shpiel, is an adventure and variety magazine for boys ages 10-17 (though I think every man age 1-100 will enjoy it too!). I take inspiration from The Dangerous Book for Boys, the old 1890s "Boy's Own" magazines, and older issues of Boy's Life for our content and style. It helps me choose the style of art, write consistently, and generally get a good, cohesive feel to the magazine.

Now, my initial inspiration and motivation for starting the magazine included this, but also more. I grew up without the internet, and I think kids nowadays have a rough time due to how universal it is. It's gotten harder and harder, I think, for anyone to avoid spending too much time online. So I had the idea of creating a physical-only publication (since I'm a writer), that would help people spend more time offline. I bounced around a couple of versions of this thought over a few months, until earlier this year (around February or March, I think) I suddenly had the idea of creating this magazine for boys. I mentioned it to my brother, who was a good sounding board for these ideas, and when he got excited about it, I knew I was onto something. After that I created the first issue, started marketing a little, and when the response was good, I launched Volume 1 Issue 1!

2. Tell us a bit about yourself.

There's nothing too crazy in my own story! I grew up in Southern California, my dad's a philosophy professor and my mom is an author. I got into reading after asking my parents if I could watch the Redwall animated TV show, and being told that I had to read the books too. Brian Jacques is probably the reason Roughhouse exists. Those books were the first I really loved, and from there I read tens of thousands of pages through middle and high school.

I was homeschooled growing up. First unschooled (when I was younger), and then homeschooled during high school. Most of my work, though, was reading. I remember spending my free time reading history because the books were well written, and I actually enjoyed them.

When I see something cool, I often want to do it myself. So it should come as no surprise that, with all that reading, I really loved writing growing up. At least, in theory. I didn't write as much as I could have (it is a lot of work after all), until in college I started a short-fiction writing group with some friends. From there, I wrote all through college and after, and when I graduated I was pretty sure I wanted that to be my career.

3. What do you think MODG families will love about this magazine?

The first thing is that it's physical. I know lots of homeschool families are aware of the dangers the internet presents, but also how hard it can be to keep an active boy occupied with things to do. And that second part is important too. I know a lot of families have kids who read a lot, and nowadays you can't just trust whatever's in the public library, even the kid's section. If a family is anything like mine, they'll be excited to have something coming every month, with a lot of substance and educational value to it, that they don't have to review to make sure it doesn't have something offensive or innapropriate in it.

That educational aspect is also something I think families will appreciate. Roughhouse is written very intentionally to do two things: give boys something to read that they'll have a blast with, and give them something to read that's worthwhile. Combining those is one of my favorite aspects of my work, and it comes down to presenting something real. Not real as in factual, but substantial. I think presenting boys with well written stories of honor and adventure, science, and good games combines those two things perfectly.

4. What is one of your favorite articles/features so far?

I have to say our How it Works article on the Colt Peacemaker revolver. It goes into the whole mechanism of how the gun works, from the cartridge to the trigger mechanism. Researching it was an absolute blast, and writing that out in a way that boys can understand was a really fun challenge. It's in our first issue, if anyone wants to buy and read it.

5. What is the biggest thing you hope young boys take away from reading Roughhouse?

That reality is good, and they should search it out as energetically as possible. That word, "real," is what defines the magazine. Our physical-only publication model, the choice of content, and the inclusion of activities alongside the reading. There are a lot of other concepts I'd include with that. Truth, of course, and vitality as well. I want boys to learn that truth, liveliness, honor, and all of these other goods are worth pursuing, are what they should spend their (probably boundless) energy on. And I want them to get that not from being told it (which is rarely very convincing to anyone), but from seeing it and living it.

(All photos courtesy of www.roughhousemag.com)