There is an aura around Taylor Bennett that makes someone feel like they are automatically his new best friend.

It might be that his music throws any sense of genre entirely out the window. It started while he was writing for his latest release, Coming Of Age. As he was writing songs, he was thinking: are listeners going to realize that he is making an attempt to infuse multiple genres together, or are they only going to hear one? Releasing the singles and getting feedback in real time gave him the motivation to push that blend of genre even more.

Coming Of Age features collaborations with artists that shaped him in his adolescence. Tom Higgenson from Plain White T’s. Matt Johnson from Matt and Kim. Jeremih. Benjamin Hudson McIldowie from Mr Hudson and the Library. Bennett took a chance and reached out to some of them on social media, and imagine his surprise when they responded.

“Growing up, songs like ‘Hey There Delilah’ or ‘Daylight’ [were] not just a track,” he said. “It’s really motivation, or was something that at a point of time I would listen to for hours, almost like a mental crutch in a way. The song meant so much more to me than the lyrics, and the song itself actually held a memory throughout my lifetime. That’s something that I think about a lot. Because I was able to work with these artists on these records and use my platform for my fans, I’ve seen a lot discover some of those tracks that I grew up on that were so important to me. I hope that they get to see them or get to feel them and the impact that I felt.”

Not only was it an unreal experience to work with artists that he admires, it was also seamless. Bennett said he has never had a shorter, sweeter process than collaborating with the artists featured on Coming Of Age.

Collaborating with Jeremih on the track “Mumble Rap” ended up being the most rewarding and the most challenging because it was a song that almost didn’t make the cut. Written more than two years before the recording process for Coming Of Age began, “Mumble Rap” was both a favorite of family members and a soft ‘I don’t think so’ from producer Dwayne Verner. Bennett pushed for the track to find its way onto the album, and once Jeremih laid down his verse, it changed everything.

“I think a big thing for almost all of my music is making sure that it creates an environment that extends outside of just the listening experience,” he said. “I feel like the music and the real goal and point of this project was to bring everybody in unity. I feel like there’s definitely an idea that instills with different people’s opinion about different genres, where people sometimes [believe] pop is too happy or rap is too dark; the idea of showing that through every music genre you can produce positivity, I feel like I was able to push so many genres together and still create a positive product.”

That aura might also be from his constant want for inclusivity. As a member of the LGBTQ community, he has been outspoken about his bisexuality and his project, Be Yourself. The early days of Be Yourself was about creating an environment that stood as a billboard of positivity. Bennett didn’t want his face plastered across merchandise or any confusion regarding what the message was. Pushing and promoting self expression, not just for yourself but for other people, gave people the community that they were looking for.

When he wanted to share Be Yourself with a larger audience, Bennett and his father began looking into a company who would be the right fit without losing the integrity of the project. It became very clear, for two reasons, why Champion® was the right fit.

First, Bennett has been a life-long supporter of Champion®. Not only is it a brand that is easily accessible, it is a brand that holds no boundaries against age or gender. Second, their brand understands the importance of the Be Yourself message.

“I do feel like they invested into something that was my idea and environmental push for positivity,” he said. “The ‘Be Yourself, Be A Champion’ collaboration was primarily focused around mental health and physical health. It’s also something that pushes positivity and makes you feel good.”

Champion® also helped Bennett take the collection of crewnecks, hoodies, t-shirts and shorts to another level by partnering on the Champion Tour, where Bennett performed at universities around the country.

“They definitely understood the vision because the big thing I wanted to do was expand this environment,” he said. “College is one of the most difficult times in a lot of peoples’ coming of age stories - where they’re trying to find their crowd, trying to figure out school, trying to balance family and being away from home… What if we went to these schools and we did free shows? That’s exactly what we did. I couldn’t imagine doing it with any other brand besides Champion.”

No matter what that aura may be, Taylor Bennett has something that makes an artist genuine. It flows so heavily through his music, his activism and his own positivity that it is incredibly difficult to not want to be his friend.