About Us
Metra! Magazine has been in production for over 40 years. In 2021 the original Owners, Mary and Ken, graciously sold this beloved publication to the Dynamic Duo, Charlie and Frankie. The Metra! team is working to make Metra! a totally inclusive magazine and platform for everyone in the LQBTQIA+ Community. Our goal is to share the love of the community with our readers.
Metra! Magazine can be found at gay night life venues across Michigan and parts of Northern Ohio.
Night Life
From the beginning METRA! has been an adult night life magazine focused on the bars, clubs, bath houses and other gay entertainment in Michigan. It has over time branched out time to include part of Northern Ohio.
Community Events
Building awareness of LGBTQIA+ events in Michigan is important to METRA! Our goal is to do this with our magazine and social media accounts. We value all the members of the community we serve, not just those that are at the bar. We fully understand and appreciate that our community is deeper and looking for more ways to mingle and support each other.
Frankie
Frankie resides in Hazel Park, with his husband and two fur babies. Frankie comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, so he grew up seeing how wonderful and challenging operating a small business is. During the day Frankie owns two optical shops and consults for several different optometry clients around the state. Frankie knew the previous owners for a long time and was previously advertising with METRA when the magazine paused publication due to the pandemic. After a few months he found out that METRA was just going to cease operations. That’s when Charlie and Frankie finessed an arrangement with previous owners to have the magazine live on with a ownership change. METRA is one of Frankie’s first queer memories. Walking in to Just For Us in Downtown Ferndale, seeing it there when he was 17. Seeing it again when Frankie walked in to interview at Q Bar in Ferndale (now Orchid). The thought of it not existing just didn’t sit right with him. We have had a lot of fun with returning METRA to it’s core roots of being a resource, while expanding it to be reflective of the entire LGBTQIA+ Community that reflects the entire state of Michigan and Northern Ohio. When Frankie isn’t working, he enjoys nerding out with his brothers: playing video games.
Charlie
Charlie is a lifelong Eastside Detroit boy with a passion for helping others. He has been active in his community for years and in a past life even owned an operated his own Optical business (it’s how he and Frankie met). When the opportunity to acquire Metra presented itself, Charlie knew he had to act. Metra has been a staple in the community for over 40 years and to see it fall to the wayside just wasn’t an acceptable option for Charlie. That’s when Charlie stepped in with Frankie to save and revive Michigan’s oldest, longest continuously operating LGBTQ nightlife magazine.
Charlie enjoys reading, writing, and spending time learning new skills. He works a day job as an account manager for local insurance agency. He has a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University where he majored in political science and minored in communications.
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Call us at 248-543-3500
