Before delving into a copy of Young, Foxy & Free, Athens’ new addition to the art scene, there are three things to take into consideration.

One: Discard all preconceived notions of fashion magazines. Two: The models will be recognizable. Three: Yes, it is free.

The quarterly publication, which first emerged in January, was created by Michael Lachowski and stylist Rachel Barnes.

The duo originally banded together to create Natural Purity, an Athens modeling agency, in 2006.

“Our goal is to avoid being everything to everybody as many agencies are and to concentrate on models and presentation that is our idea of cool, hip and beautiful,” Lachowski said.

Colt Thompson, an Athens-Technical College student featured in YFF’s most recent issue, said aside from the modeling, he enjoys working for the publication.

“It took me a couple of weeks to get used to modeling, but I enjoy being a part of it more than anything else,” he said. “Even if I wasn’t modeling, I’d want to be involved.”

After finding a few fresh faces and getting to work, Lachowski, Barnes and a few others decided to take their mission a step further.

“We were sort of just seeing stuff that we weren’t that into, and we finally just said … we need to do a decent magazine that’s not just a bunch of crap with a lot of ads,” Lachowski said.

Aside from a modeling and photography medium, Young, Foxy & Free presents local art, music, restaurants and stores.

Like most “free” publications, Barnes and Lachowski are aware of the audience they target.

“Our first-time readers will most likely be people waiting in line at Taco Stand. So, we’re a little skeptical if people would actually read the articles, but they will look at the images,” Barnes said.

While there are few articles and advertisements, there is plenty of information to absorb from the publication’s art and images.

“We live in a time where we know how to get information about an artist or a band – you can go to the Myspace page and see what you think of them for yourself,” Lachowski said.

“In the 15 minutes that you spend reading a magazine, you’re not going to want to look at ads. In that 15 minutes, we want to get our point across.”

Without advertising, there would be no publication.

“Ads are important,” Lachowski said. “But there is a way to configure them so they don’t visually compete.”

The publication’s advertising consists of small text boxes in the corner of a photo or the explanation of the clothing on a model.

“Each of [the two publications] feature great artists, and that’s what we want to do with each issue,” Barnes said.

YFF presents previously unseen art produced locally.

January’s issue featured photographs from Michael Stipe’s personal collection.

They don’t want to be connected with the art scene of Athens, said Barnes.

“I don’t want to give the impression that we are elitist,” Barnes said. “We want everyone exposed to our ideas, and we really want feedback.”

A reader’s survey, along with an invitation to a Young, Foxy & Free party can be found at yffmag.com.

Aside from the genuine concern to connect with their readers, Young, Foxy and Free brings something that is refreshing and needed in Athens.