June is set out for the month of pride to raise LGBTQ voices, celebrate LGBTQ culture, and support the LGBTQ communities around the world. This month celebrates equality, self-affirmation, and individual self-expression. Pride helps to create a safe space for individuals to be who they are and truly show up in the world authentically.

We spoke to Bennett Cooper and Windsor Dalton, two creative professionals who’s relationship bloomed during the covid lockdowns. We discuss all things relationships, share some advice about creating personal brands and how to balance work and finer luxuries of life like being truly present. 

Bennett and Windsor live the way they want to, how they want to, on their own terms. They are creating the life of their dreams together. 

Describe to us a little bit about yourselves.

Bennett - Born and raised in Newport Beach, CA, I attended Boston College and upon graduation moved to New York and back to Boston for my career in financial services consulting. I then transferred offices to Los Angeles, where I met Windsor. I am a very type A person; collegiate athlete, corporate consultant, very organized and structured, yet I also have a very robust creative side and am fulfilled by art, music, and beauty (especially the beauty of nature). Living in New York and Los Angeles as an adult helped me to explore my creative side and find meaningful ways to incorporate these various aspects of my interests and passions into my life. I love to swim, do yoga, and garden. I also have a very dry sense of humor.

Windsor - I grew up in Winston Salem, where we currently live, and went to East Carolina University. After school, I worked for a menswear company in Boston before pursuing social media, graphic design and digital marketing as a freelancer full-time. Since going solo, I have traveled all over the world (Paris, Dubai, New York, Chengdu, etc.), attending fashion weeks, store openings, and brand launches. Working for myself has been a blessing because it allows me to create whatever flexibility I need, while also getting to handpick my clients, such as fashion brands and designers. Now that we live in North Carolina, I have reconnected with the interior design and furniture industries (NC is a major domestic producer of furniture in the United States), and have signed multiple new clients. It is so inspiring to be surrounded by so many creative individuals and it fuels my passion to keep adding beauty and vibrancy into our personal lives. Outside of work, I love to manage our yard, go shopping, watch movies, and DIY projects. 

Tell us the story of how you both met and how your relationship has grown over the years.

We met in Los Angeles through Bumble (LOL) and were inseparable after our first date. We spent the first 6 months together spending our weekends on the beach in Malibu, Venice or Manhattan Beach and exploring the rest of Los Angeles at night. We were constantly going on adventures. During the COVID lockdowns, our relationship got very serious very quickly, and we focused more of our energy on building our future together. We got married in Las Vegas on October 3rd 2020 (at the Little White Chapel) and moved to North Carolina 3 weeks later. Now we are knee deep in home ownership, renovations, and projects - and we love it!

What do you both do in your professional and personal lives?

Bennett is the Creative Director for Agent Nateur and also a Manager at a global consulting firm specializing in cybersecurity and tech, and Windsor is the founder and owner of Windsor Dalton Creative, a boutique micro-agency focused on digital media and social media marketing.

What does a personal brand mean to both of you?

Personal brand to us means the image of yourself and your energy that you curate. Your brand is your identity, especially now in the ever-increasingly digital age. Personal branding should encapsulate your energy and your aura into a simple, consumable statement and is the core of how you live your life.

What advice would you give others to find and curate that?

Finding what you love and what gives you joy - it is “personal” for a reason, it should not be something that you can just go out and purchase or follow someone else to copy. It has to be carefully and thoughtfully built over time. Truthfully, it’s similar to manifestation, however it is more of the output from what manifesting and investing energy into yourself brings.

How do you create balance with work and also your personal lives?

Being intentional with our time, especially our time together. We make sure to eat dinner together at the dinner table every night we are both in town (Bennett travels very frequently) and we make sure to be present when we are together. We also make sure to carve out time for our personal joys and allow each other the freedom to do so.

Who and what inspires you guys the most in this life?

Beauty and luxury in the simplest of things, like spending time with family or friends, going on walks, being present in your life. A lot of our main inspiration for home projects or personal projects come through being immersed in our community and engaging with life head on. We learn so much from those around us, it’s critical to be actively engaged to absorb everything you can. We love walking our neighborhood to look at old homes, drawing inspiration for landscaping or potential future renovations. We also love to talk to our parents and grandparents to try and gain their perspective and wisdom on life and to not take anything too serious.

What about each other inspires you?

Windsor inspires me because he is self-less, passionate, and funny. He also knows how to make me laugh and is not afraid to take on any challenge. He also is very loving and nurturing and I know he will be an incredible father.

Bennett inspires me because he is hard-working, dedicated and stable. I always tell people that he is like a superhero because he juggles so many things and is good at pretty much anything he sets his mind to. 

What does your future hold for you both, are you interested in a family?

We are - stay tuned for updates :) 

Who do you both look up to in the LGBTQ community?

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, Brad Goreski to name “famous people” - honestly most of our role models in the LGBTQ community are our friends and neighbors we have met throughout our relationship.

What does pride mean to you both?

We live the way we want to, how we want to, on our own terms. That is what it means, to us, to be proud. 

What advice would you give to your younger selves?

Be patient - not everything needs to happen quickly or in the way you think you’d like it to, and oftentimes it works out far better than you could have expected.