Behind the Scenes of High on Love
Jun 14 2024Gotham's pride campaign, plastered across the city, features real, queer couples of NYC.
Our pride campaign, High on Love, has hit social media, our store, and billboards around the city. But now, it's time to go beyond the images and get to know the stars of the shoot. Take a closer look at the real love behind the High on Love campaign and meet the incredible couples and icons plastered across the city.
Richie and Ben are the creative it couple. Richie is a model, photographer, writer extraordinaire and Ben is a musician and video artist. The pair have been together for over five years, having just met after their college graduations. Ben recently directed the music video for Julia Fox’s debut single, Down the Drain, and Richie just made an appearance in Charli XCX’s music video 360. Talk about a power couple. Catch them in Vogue, GQ, Coveteur and all around NYC in Gotham’s High on Love campaign.
Jari Jones does it all; she is an activist, actress, model, performance artist and creative. Jari has been the face of both Calvin Klein and Maybelline, and is dedicated to creating communities of inclusion within the fashion and beauty industries. Jari was a cast member, script consultant and producer on the trans-awakening romance film Port Authority, executive produced by Martin Scorsese. Pictured with Jari is her best friend, Yanece Cotto, an artist, actor, model and doula. Their love for one another demonstrates how queer love goes beyond romantic love and can take many forms.
Grey and Grayson Prnce are the quintessential queer love story of the internet age. They met on either TikTok or Instagram (they go back and forth on this fact), and their courtship bloomed through videos and DMs. Grey posted, specifically hoping to get Grayson’s attention, saying “Who wants to go Thelma and Louis style off the side of a cliff?” and Grayson responded with emojis of a packed bag and a motorcycle. A few days later, Grayson showed up with a Vespa and a bouquet of flowers. They said I love you after 5 days. They’re now married and first-time homeowners.
Dean Isidro is not only one of the many stars of High on Love, but also the photographer of the campaign. Dean is an exceptional fashion photographer who shoots for Love Shack Fancy, and icons such as Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff and Chris Appleton. Dean’s husband, Nicholas Holder works in advertising. The effortlessly fabulous couple’s wedding was featured in Vogue.
Joshua and Stephen are a true entrepreneurial art world couple. Joshua is the co-founder of Friends of the High Line and Stephen was a talent agent, repping actors and actresses for stage, film, and television, with an Emmy-, Tony-, and Oscar-winning client list. Their love has spanned decades and they continue to slay.
Rachel Berks is Gotham’s very own VP of Creative and Merchandising. Her partner A.L. Steiner is an artist, professor, curator and activist. You can read all about their love story (which prophetically began with a photoshoot, 14 years ago) in Rachel’s next installation of her bi-weekly blog about buying, aptly titled Buy Weekly.
Sarah Burke is the Editor in Chief of Them magazine, Conde Nast’s LGBTQ+ publication. Alyza was a producer and writer at VICE News for 7 years, with a special interest in culture documentary filmmaking focusing on those marginalized by society. They met at work 5 years ago and are really looking forward to traveling to Japan together in the coming year. Alyza’s favorite thing about Sarah is how silly she can be.
Lucie is Gotham’s Creative Content Associate. Her responsibilities include assisting with social content production, creative ideas for programming, editing, and writing this very blog. She’s a prolific standup comedian, comedy writer, actress and has natural star power. We love Lucie.
Justise Hayward is Gotham’s very own Head Concierge. If you’ve been to Gotham, you’ve probably been greeted by his smiling face. He’s a multi-talented man, appearing in Gotham’s social content and this campaign. He also is a gifted musician, actor, writer, and appeared in the national touring production of Waitress. We love Justise.
Bruce Estevez is Gotham’s go to stylist. He works as a creative consultant and stylist to celebrity clients between Miami and NYC. He was on set to style the talent, but when he tried on a new Marni shirt, he looked too good not to shoot. Bruce has collaborated with the likes of Paper Magazine, 7Hues Magazine, 201, NY Post, Rodger Vivier and more.
Riad Azar is a Syrian-born, New York-based hairstylist and groomer. His work has been featured in magazines the likes of Vogue, V Magazine, British GQ, Glamour UK, Marie Claire UK, and more, shot by notable photographers like Gilles Bensimon, Blair Getz Mezibov, David Roemer, Ben Lamberty, and Kat Irlin. He stunned in our campaign in never-before-worn Jean Paul Gaultier.
Alex Kalb is a photographer who often works with Dean Isidro on shoots, and High on Love was no exception. We were honored to have him on set, and couldn’t resist including him.
Silas and Rashaun are partners in choreography and life, who met while they were both dancers for Merce Cunningham. They’ve been together for 16 years, since 2008. Silas first noticed Rashaun when he saw him dance. Silas keeps a playlist of songs that make him think of Rashaun. They both have great hair.
Follow along on our Instagram account to see exclusive behind the scenes content from the campaign. And if you come across High on Love in the wild, share it to your story and tag us @gotham.ny.