Calix Magazine — Growing Youngstown’s Downtown

Graphic by Brody Calix

By Gabrielle Fellows

Graphic by Brody Calix
Graphic by Brody Calix

Brody Calix is a San Diego native that moved to Youngstown a year and a half ago. After hearing repeatedly that ‘Youngstown sucks,’ he decided to take it into his own hands to prove that his new hometown has a lot to offer.

Calix Magazine was created a month and a half ago as Calix’s rebuttal to all those that think Youngstown is boring. Calixmag.wordpress.com features dates of live music and events, as well as weekend recaps and the magazine’s “song of the week.”

“I kind of noticed that people here kept saying ‘Youngstown sucks, Youngstown’s boring.’ I’m like, okay, there is a lot of culture here, but its historical, which is the perfect soil for starting something new. I knew there had to be stuff to do down here. So for the first year I lived in Youngstown, I was downtown every weekend. I knew everybody because of that. I noticed that I’d go out by myself and I’d find that there would be bars having really cool bands or events,” Calix said.

“I’d check the Facebook pages or social media accounts and find nothing — what the heck? Do you want people to come? There would be a really cool concert in the middle of the week and I thought, do you want to try and keep this hipster or? There isn’t something to show off downtown’s nightlife, that’s what I’m trying to do right now,” Calix continued. “Eventually, Calix Magazine is going to grow to be much more — I already have that plan in motion.”

Calix incorporated his knowledge of graphic design with his passion for going against the grain into an online magazine that is already gaining traction with Youngstown business owners and locals alike

“I looked everywhere for a career in graphic design, and since I couldn’t find one, I made one for myself with this magazine. It’s amazing how fast everything has grown. I did some free photography work for awhile, and because of that, people are offering their help to my site,” Calix said. “This all started a month and a half ago and now people are saying they want to help me financially and work for me.”

Eventually, Calix said he does want to move his magazine from online to in print, and eventually use it as a platform to expand Youngstown’s nightlife. Calix said if the magazine keeps growing the way it has been, he would eventually like to promote and bring in different bands into Youngstown, host events, art shows and even festivals.

“3 million people live in San Diego. 8 million people live in New York City. If you combine Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Akron and Canton — that’s 12 million people. Youngstown is one hour away from all of those cities,” Calix said. “There’s so much potential here if things were done correctly, and that’s what I want to do.”

Calix Magazine is hosting its first event Thursday night at Martini Brothers Burger Bar from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m and will feature bands Songbird Lumberjack, Frankie B & Ke’von Gordon and True.

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