Who's your daddy

The "mancession" hit guy-dominated industries pretty hard, but the men's lifestyle market is stronger than ever, bolstered by everything from bacon-flavored toothpicks and shape wear to streamline beer bellies and "moobs" to handmade machinist shirts and "men-only" RVs with an inflatable blowup doll (it comes standard, according to Trend Hunter online magazine).

Dudes are really loving it. Online newsletters and websites like UrbanDaddy and Thrillist, which feature products and services that cater to this youngish, educated, more affluent demographic, are a hit with readers. UrbanDaddy is closing in on 2 million subscribers, and Thrillist is already at 2.25 million.

Advertisers are equally charmed. "We should easily break $10 million in revenue by the end of the year," says Thrillist co-founder Adam Rich. "Growth is actually accelerating--even female readership."

His theory is that a broader "man's position" has become accepted, and guys want to embrace things that reflect more diverse interests--not just steak houses, Rich says, but also projects like the Urban Forest Map, which maps urban trees and their financial effect on water savings.

The market opportunities are only going to increase with e-commerce sites like Etsy, which allow individuals to open businesses with very little overhead. "You used to need a big company to turn the ship, but now cottage craftspeople can see something that'd be cool to have and create it. Then, you've got sites like Thrillist to draw attention to the best of them. It's very synergistic," Rich says.

So get ready: Mancessorizing is the wave of the future. --J.W.