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Rick Genest

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Rick Genest
Genest in 2011
Born(1985-08-07)August 7, 1985
LaSalle, Quebec, Canada
DiedAugust 1, 2018(2018-08-01) (aged 32)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other namesZombie Boy
Rico the Zombie
Occupation(s)Actor, freakshow performer, fashion model
Years active2009–2018
Websiterickgenest.com

Rick Genest (August 7, 1985 – August 1, 2018) was a Canadian artist, actor, and fashion model. He was also known as Zombie Boy, long before he was tattooed.

He was born in LaSalle, Quebec. He died on August 1, 2018, after what police ruled as a suicide.[1]

Personal life

Before he had any tattoos, Genest was diagnosed with a brain tumor.[2] He was on the waiting list for six months, during which he contemplated his own life and possible death, before undergoing the surgery with minimal complications.[3]

Career

Tattooed as a living skeleton, Genest also worked in various sideshows and freak shows across Canada as an illustrated man. Not long after beginning his facial tattoos, Genest was first introduced to the public on November 13, 2006 in a blog post by Shannon Larratt on BME's ModBlog,[4] which was followed in March 2008 by his first interview,[5] by which time his tattoos were largely completed. In this interview Genest clarified that he preferred the moniker "Zombie" to "Skullboy", as BME had been referring to him. The introductions on RzyM's Channel led to increasingly mainstream media coverage, notably a June 2008 feature in 'Bizarre' magazine. In the 2009 television film Carny, starring Lou Diamond Phillips as a small town sheriff, Genest was seen as a Tattooed Man at the Carnival. Following, he was again discovered by Marc Quinn, in Bromont, Quebec, where Genest was working with the sideshow, Alive on the Inside, at Carnivàle Lune Bleue during the summer of 2010.

As a model

On January 19, 2011, Genest was featured in the new Thierry Mugler Autumn/Winter men's collection, headlining it on the brand's website, after his discovery by Formichetti, also Mugler's creative director.[6][7][8][9] It was Genest's involvement and Lady Gaga's urging which resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned.[10] His involvement also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself.[10] The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest, shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco.[7] He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women's 2011 Autumn/Winter line.[11]

On February 27, 2011, Genest was featured in Lady Gaga's video for "Born This Way", with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest's tattoos.[12] Genest was featured in the sixth volume of Vogue Hommes Japan in an editorial titled "Hard To Be Passive".[13] In the Summer issue of GQ Style (UK), Formichetti and he are interviewed, with Genest shot in Mugler by Karim Sadli for the editorial.[14]

In late 2011, Genest was featured in a campaign entitled "Go Beyond the Cover", promoting Dermablend professional makeup products, appearing in a video where a makeup team covered all the tattoos on his head, torso, arms, and part of his back in its concealer product. The advert then shows him sitting with the phrase "How do you judge a book?". He then proceeds to remove portions of the makeup, starting with a section of his chest to reveal the tattoo underneath, continuing to his face. The video then shows the process of applying the cover up played backwards.[15] The commercial success of this campaign led to a 2-year endorsement contract with L'Oreal for Genest, who became its first ever male spokesperson. Genest also appeared in the music video of the Polish pop singer Honey. The video for her song "Sabotage" was released on January 19, 2012.

For the 2012 San Diego Comic Con, the Tonner Doll Company produced "Zombie Boy", a limited edition character figure in Genest's likeness. He was Tonner's guest at the convention as well. Included with each doll is a certificate of authenticity signed by Genest (as "Rico the Zombie"). The edition was limited to 400 dolls, all of which were sold as of July 27, 2012.[citation needed]

In September 2012, Genest became the face of the Jay-Z music fashion label Roc-A-Wear for its re-launch in Europe.[citation needed]

During his modeling career he also promoted tattoo concealer.[16]

As an actor and musician

He was cast as the character "foreman" in the 2013 film 47 Ronin[17], featuring Keanu Reeves. Genest was featured in the marketing for the film, appearing on posters and in trailers; however, due to various post-process tensions, stemming from the 2011 version of the film in which Universal executives wanted Reeves to become a more integral part of the film, Genest was largely edited out of the final version.[18]

Genest collaborated with British solo artist KAV on the single "Dirty Rejects" released May 21, 2013. They spent the first part of 2013 recording an album project and a video titled "Monsters Versus the World" in Los Angeles. The project was discontinued.

As of January 2015, Genest was working with Riggs, ex-Rob Zombie guitarist, on an upcoming collaborative album. On the horror news site Bloody Disgusting, a “Zombie Boy 666 Medley” video was released featuring samples of six songs to be on the upcoming album.[19]

In June 2017, as part of the TEDx #DISRUPTyou, a video of Genest titled "Normal is an illusion" was released. His talk explores some of his life experiences and how he realized that normality is simply a cultural construct, "Normal is what you make it to be."[citation needed]

Planned to be unveiled in 2019, an 11.5-foot (3.5 m) sculpture of Genest called “Self-Conscious Gene” will be a new permanent fixture at the Science Museum, London, UK. The statue is to be created by British artist Marc Quinn.[20]

Death

On August 1, 2018, Genest was found dead after a fall from the balcony at his Plateau-Mont-Royal apartment.[21] Police ruled his death as a suicide.[1] However, his family and friends believe his death to have been an accidental fall.[22][23]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Carny Carny
2013 Aquario Zombie Boy Short
47 Ronin Foreman A larger role was initially developed[17]
In Faustian Fashion Phoenix
  • also executive producer
  • Short
2014 Love at Last Sight Zombie Boy
  • Official Selection Montreal World Film Festival
  • Short
2017 Silent Witness El Buitre
  • BBC One TV Series
  • Series 20, Episode: Awakening Part 1 & Part 2

Music

Year Album Song
TBA[19] TBA "That Terrible Song"
"Monster Inside"
"Monster Man"
"Yeah Bebe Yeah"
"Darkness Falls"

References

  1. ^ a b "Model and artist known as Zombie Boy dead at 32". CBC. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Entrevue exclusive avec Zombie Boy". Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  3. ^ "A Powerful and Intimate Interview with Rico Zombie". Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ You call yourself a Misfits fan?, November 13, 2006
  5. ^ Zombie: Living Dead Art March 18, 2008
  6. ^ Bergin, Olivia (January 20, 2011). "Gaga's stylist Nicola Formichetti makes Mugler debut". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Fury, Alex (January 19, 2011). "Mugler @ Paris Menswear A/W 11]". SHOWstudio.com.
  8. ^ Tschorn, Adam (January 19, 2011). "Paris Fashion Week: Mugler menswear is reborn, and Lady Gaga is the midwife". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Horyn, Cathy (January 19, 2011). "Rethinking the Mugler Man". The New York Times.
  10. ^ a b Carter, Lee (March 20, 2011). "The Incredible But True Story of How Nicola Formichetti Got Zombie Boy to Model in Mugler" (Interview). Hint Fashion Magazine.
  11. ^ Odell, Amy (March 2, 2011). "Mugler Highlights: Gaga, Gaga's Pigtails, Precarious Footwear, and More Gaga". The Cut / New York.
  12. ^ Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Video Premiers, Jillian Mapes (Billboard). February 28, 2011.
  13. ^ "Hard To Be Passive", Vogue Hommes Japan VOL. 6 Archived July 8, 2012, at archive.today, Photography by Mariano Vivanco and fashion by Nicola Formichetti. 2011.
  14. ^ Morris, Andy (March 15, 2011). "GQ Style presents Nicola Formichetti". GQ Style. Archived from the original (Interview (inaccessible) with Sarah Hay) on March 19, 2011.
  15. ^ "Zombie Boy transformed – temporarily". The Constant Shopper Blog. The Montreal Gazette. October 20, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  16. ^ "Zombie Boy demonstrates ultimate tattoo concealer". October 21, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Film Credits
  18. ^ Setoodeh, Ramin; Foundas, Scott (December 30, 2013). "'47 Ronin': The Inside Story of Universal's Samurai Disaster". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Barkan, Jonathan (January 22, 2015). "Zombie Boy "Zombie Boy 666 Medley" Lyric Video Premiere". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  20. ^ Treviño, Julissa (March 15, 2018). "Sculpture of 'Zombie Boy' Fleshes Out London's Science Museum". Smithsonian Mag. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  21. ^ "Zombie Boy from Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Jumped to His Death". TMZ. EHM Productions, Inc. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  22. ^ "Rick 'Zombie Boy' Genest's Family Believe He Accidentally Fell to His Death: 'There's Too Many Inconsistencies'". August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 77 (help)
  23. ^ "Zombie Boy 'jumped to his death' - but family insist it was accidental". August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
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