Model Zombie Boy found dead in Canada. Who is he and what is known about his death

Rick Genest, or as he is also called, Zombie Boy, is considered the most tattooed man in the world. Rick's entire body is covered with a tattoo that depicts a human skeleton. Genest works as a model. He was repeatedly invited to participate in fashion shows. He even took part in the filming of Lady Gaga’s video and the film “47 Ronin.” The skeleton tattoo brought Rick worldwide fame. He is considered one of the most extraordinary personalities in modern history.

The history of applying a skeleton tattoo began when the guy turned 16 years old. Over the next 6 years, the guy covered his body with tattoos, which ultimately led to the current version. Looking at the face of a person with a skeleton tattoo, we really see the skull, which seems to shine through thin skin guy. It is noteworthy that the tattoo accurately depicts all the elements of the skull and corresponds to all sizes of Rick’s skull.

Rick's body appearance resembles a rotting corpse. The completeness of the image is created with the help of flies and other signs of decay. The guy spent a huge amount on being radically different from those around him. According to Genest, this is not the end; there are a lot of details that require improvement.

According to those who like to decorate their bodies with tattoos, the meaning of a skeleton tattoo is associated with the other world, death, the transience of life, a certain hopelessness. Many consider the skeleton and its parts as a kind of amulet that can protect against premature and accidental death. The tattoo also serves as a reminder that everything in this world has an end, and you shouldn’t be afraid of it.

A skeleton tattoo on the hand allows you to examine all the elements of the hand, phalanges of the fingers, and tendons. Such tattoos are done mainly by men, because on fragile female body the image will look somewhat awkward. We tried to collect a small collection of tattoos in the form of a skeleton and a photo of Rick Genest.

The tattoo has become a reality modern society and it can be seen on almost every fifth one. But you will recognize these comrades from afar. There is literally no living space on them, because almost the entire surface of their skin is filled with tattoos and other modifications

Maria Jose Cristerna


This woman has an extremely unusual appearance, the history of whose acquisition is no less interesting than Maria herself.



This was the tattoo lover in 1998.



Today she is a mother of four children and a happy wife. Maria lives in Mexico, is a lawyer by training, and was an assistant judge for a long period of time. Now she has her own tattoo salon and is incredibly popular.



She loves to sing, act in various television shows, and also tattoo her clients with her own hands. In the photo below, Maria is shown with her husband David Pena waiting outside a school in Guadalajara for their children.



Maria became a woman – a vampire in her first marriage. Her husband often humiliated her and beat her, even causing the unfortunate woman to give birth prematurely. Changing the body became a kind of psychological protection.


Tom Leppard


For almost 28 years, the Englishman Tom served in the British Army, but at some point, when the time came to end his service, he realized that the society of civilians was not close to him, and he simply could not live in their environment.



Having decided to escape from civilization, he got himself $10,000 worth of tattoos and moved away from the benefits of civilization to the Isle of Skye. The tattoos covered almost his entire body; the only “live spot” remained on the inner surface of his ears and between his toes.



At one time, Tom was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the most tattooed person in the world, but his record was soon broken. The man turned into a leopard, even inserted fangs into himself that were the same as those of this animal. The only clothing he ever wore was a loincloth.


Tommy Wills


This great-grandfather is the most tattooed in Britain. For more than half a century, this man has regularly covered his body with a wide variety of designs.



As a result, almost by the age of 70, there was not a single millimeter of free skin left on Tommy’s body; he was completely “tattooed.”



He got his last tattoo after his wife died. These were the words: "Tommy, I will always love you." In fact, a woman who has lived her whole life with such a strange man is worthy of love.


Etienne Dumont


This man by profession is none other than a newspaper art critic who lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland. For what exact reasons this young successful man decided to turn into a monster is not known.



It is likely that he was not so successful before he covered his body with drawings, acquired horns thanks to silicone implants and inserted huge circles into his ears, nose and lower lip, or maybe it was all about banal shocking.



The look is always topped off with stylish sunglasses that have writers lining up to get a review from the fashion critic.


Gregory Paul McLaren


Gregory got his first tattoo in London at the age of 17 after meeting a prostitute. This tattoo, according to the man himself, who performed in the circus since childhood, gave him incredible self-confidence.



Since then he has been traveling the world and getting tattoos. He underwent this procedure on 4 continents, in 17 countries and in 45 cities. Moreover, 136 masters worked with his body. In total, he spent almost 48 days under the needle for 1,150 hours.



The man gained great popularity under the pseudonym Lucky Diamond Rich, and he also became famous for breaking Tom Leppard's record for the volume of his tattooed body.


Rick Genest (Zombie Boy)


This 28-year-old guy is a famous Canadian model. However, few people knew him in wide circles until he decorated his body with skeleton tattoos and turned his head into a skull design. The young man got his first tattoo at the age of 16 after he received a serious injury, as a result of which he right hand a thick scar began to show off. He did the drawing to hide the scar.



The procedure for painting his entire body cost Rick 4,000 Canadian dollars, but at the same time, he earned a much larger amount from his new image. In 2010, Rick, having gotten his tattoos, posted photos of them on his Facebook page. In a short period of time, more than 1.5 million users subscribed to his page. It was then that Lady Gaga's director noticed him.



Subsequently, he starred in the singer’s “Born this way” video, in which Lady Gaga’s face was painted to match Rick’s tattoos, and also took part in a very interesting advertisement for Dermablend foundation. Today he travels all over the world, he is a regular guest or participant in fashion shows, and sometimes even works as a DJ in nightclubs. All that remains is to act in a movie.


Michelle "Bombshell" McGee


Michelle is a very popular person, and, apparently, has become a collective image of all the vices that exist in the world.



Most of the girl’s body is covered with drawings of extremely dubious content, however, this is how she earns her living, just like the hero of the previous paragraph. But if Rick is definitely a bright hero, then Michelle is a manifestation dark side life.



She: - deprived the popular actress Sandra Bullock of her equally famous husband; - a white racist; - greets people “Hitler-style”, because she is a convinced neo-Nazi; - famous porn actress;



She is also a star of women's fist fights.


Julia Gnas


Some time ago, the girl was diagnosed with a disease called porphyria. One of the manifestations of this disease is increased sensitivity to the sun (photodermatitis). There is treatment, but in most cases it is accompanied by side effect in the form of loss of vision.



The woman has large quantities blisters and burns began to appear, which naturally left scars. Julia decided to cover her body with tattoos to hide the terrible scars, and now 95 percent of the young woman's skin is covered with drawings.

ASTANA, August 3 – Sputnik. Actor and model Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy, committed suicide on August 1 at his home in Montreal, Canada.

The information was provided by the singer and close girlfriend 32-year-old Genest is the pop diva Lady Gaga.

"The suicide of my friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is a big blow. We need to do more to change the culture, put mental health first. We need to get rid of the stigma that we can't talk about it. If you are suffering, seek help from friends or family. We have to save each other," the singer wrote on Twitter.

​What is Zombie Boy known for?

The guy got his nickname thanks to tattoos in the form of a skeleton and internal organs, which covers his entire body. He began drawing at the age of 16, after he ran away from home. One of the turning points in the teenager’s life was an operation to remove a brain tumor, which he underwent at the age of 15.

Genest’s first tattoo artist was Canadian Frank Lewis, who came up with the idea and authorship of most of the original tattoos on the guy’s body.

Tattoos are an expensive pleasure, so Rick did odd jobs, actually lived on the street, but spent all the money on “removing ink” more and more areas of the skin.

Fame came to him in 2010, after a page dedicated to him appeared on Facebook. In total, in a year and a half, Zombie Boy (zombie boy - Sputnik) gained 1.5 million subscribers.

Among them was Nicola Formichetti, fashion director of the extravagant singer Lady Gaga and the Mugler brand. After this, Zombie Boy appeared in Gaga's Born This Way video. In the video, Rick and Stefani Germanotta (the singer's real name) are wearing business suits, the singer’s makeup replicates the “zombie boy” tattoos. Rick then starred in several more Gaga videos and a friendship began.

Formichetti helped bring Zombie Boy onto the catwalk and become a famous model.

What does Zombie Boy look like without tattoos?

In 2011, Rick was offered to star in a creative cosmetics advertisement. They put it on top of his tattoos Foundation, which completely covered the tattoos. Thus, Rick appeared “in his original form.”

Actor and part-time model Rick Genest, known under the pseudonym Zombie Boy, has died. The owner of a shocking, bright appearance was recently found dead in his apartment in Canada. It is already known that he committed suicide presumably on August 1, 2018. The fact and cause of his death have already been officially confirmed by Dulcedo, the agency where Zombie Boy worked as a model.

Why Zombie Boy committed suicide: what happened to him, reasons

Zombie Boy jumped from the 4th floor of the building in which he lived, ambulance doctors arrived on the scene when Rick was no longer breathing.

Genest's relatives are sure that he did not plan suicide. They believe that Rick may have fallen from the balcony when he went out to smoke and leaned dangerously down, leaning his back on the railing. Apparently, he liked to do this.

Relatives also believe that if Rick committed suicide, he would have left a suicide note. But they don’t deny the fact that Rick has recently suffered from a severe mental disorder.

Speaking of the suicide note, a day after his death, a mysterious poem appeared on Zombie Boy’s Instagram account, most likely written by himself.

Rick most likely set the publication on a self-timer before committing suicide. He wrote the poem Well about Damballa. We are talking about a mystical entity from the voodoo religion, revered as the creator of all living things.

“Oh, Damballah.

We howl at the stars suspended from above
Our souls fall into a stone well,
Like a fire laid between two destinies,
Of the most boring stories.
Every breath cuts the ice,
as if the flesh is suspended
Before the old narrow gates of death,
Where is the bold and brazen last ritual?
Fulfills our desire for madness.
Deep underground
We kissed our prayers
So harsh and cold
On metal shells.
Freed by moonlight."

Lady Gaga mourns friend and urges not to fight depression alone

Let us remember that at the age of 15, Genest underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. The following year he got his first tattoo. Montreal artist Frank Lewis later covered 90% of Genest's body with tattoos. In this regard, Zombie Boy was twice included in the Guinness Book of Records as the person with the largest number of insect and bone tattoos.

Lady Gaga calls the death of her friend Rick Genest a great tragedy, because there are a lot of people with similar diseases all over the world, and it is necessary to look at this problem from the other side. You cannot close yourself off and try to solve everything on your own, as in the very tragic example of Rick Genest. He was famous person and had many fans, but this did not help Zombie Boy save his life. Therefore, in any life problems you need to trust your loved ones and turn to them for help, especially if you can no longer cope on your own. In memory for Lady Gaga, Zombie Boy will forever remain a good friend and person.

Zombie Boy Rick Genest: biography, creativity

Zombie Boy was born and raised in Canada, he would have turned 33 on August 7 if it hadn’t happened tragic event. The famous actor and model under the pseudonym Zombie Boy lived with his parents until he graduated from school, immediately after which he began to lead an independent life. He always dreamed of getting a tattoo, but his parents were categorically against it, so in order not to go against their opinion, Rick Genest could only afford it by living separately. A guy's desire to get a tattoo adolescence It grew into a hobby, and he inflicted them on himself more and more.

At the age of 15, Rick Genest had a big problem: he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, after which he had to undergo a very difficult operation. At some point, the guy thought that he would not be able to survive and endure this difficult ordeal. After the treatment was successful and the disease subsided, he firmly decided to get his first tattoo. She was dedicated to defeating her illness, which took a lot of strength, but developed faith in a bright future and further healthy life. Every time Rick Genest came up with new drawing, which will decorate his body. The artist Frank Lewis, who created for the guy, became an assistant in this interesting ideas, carrying a certain meaning. Although they may seem like just tattoos, for Rick Genest, each of them means something and was invented based on certain considerations.

After a while, the guy’s body was filled with tattoos, after he posted social media your unusual photographs, they immediately attracted the interest of many people. In one of the interviews, Zombie Boy admitted that on the street he took pictures with people for money and thus earned his living. Many passers-by asked to take a photo as a souvenir, as they were very attracted by the unusual body completely covered with tattoos. Soon a famous designer became interested in him and offered to become a model for his collection. This is where the creative path of the guy known under the pseudonym Zombie Boy began.

Genest began his career living on the streets and performing in small freak shows across Canada. Later, several famous bloggers wrote about him, and he began to receive cooperation offers from the media. During his career, he worked with Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair.

Genest became widely known in 2011, when he starred in the video for “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, who was then at the peak of her popularity. After that, Genest played several roles in feature films (the most famous is “47 Ronin” with Keanu Reeves), and also began writing music. At the same time, he continued to work as a model.

Before his death, Rick Genest worked with Rob Zombie's former guitarist Mike Riggs on his new album, notes Et Canada. Judging by Genest's latest Instagram posts, he also participated in Home Depot's Orange Door charity project, which helped young homeless people.

All his life he was afraid of death. And he sang about her all his life. He didn’t really like publicity, was reluctant to give interviews, but did everything possible to stand out from the crowd and not be like anyone else.

Our article will tell you about Rick Genest. Zombie Boy, as he called himself, was an extraordinary person who managed to become famous throughout the world. They treated him differently: some with admiration, some with indignation. But both of them could not help but agree that this guy is truly original and individual.

"Addicted to Death"

Even in his youth, he began to think about death. And this is no accident: she was really very close. The fact is that Zombie Guy, Rick Genest, had every reason to believe that he would not even reach adulthood. The terrible diagnosis of a “brain tumor” forced him to grow up early. But timely treatment bore fruit: the operation was successful, the guy fully recovered from the disease and was completely healthy physically.

However, such things rarely pass without a trace. The diagnosis, which the doctors managed to overcome, left an indelible mark on Rick’s soul. The tumor was removed, but his life was no longer the same. He was never able to get rid of the feeling of dependence on death.

It was then that he came up with the pseudonym Zombie Boy, which after a while thundered throughout the world. It was then that he began to make tattoos, which made him famous. It was from then on that he called himself a living zombie - one who continues to live, having defeated death.

Rick was born in Chateauguay (Quebec, Canada) on August 7, 1985. As a child, he was practically no different from his peers. Everything changed when he turned 16, and for the first time he found himself in a tattoo artist’s office...

Tattooed man

It is unlikely that Genest thought long about the tattoo designs when choosing a theme. It was obvious to him.

The guy applied one tattoo after another to his body, making himself more and more like a zombie. On his back and chest, on his arms and legs, and even on his face, the back of his head and his neck, there are realistic images of bones with the remains of decaying flesh and insects crawling on them.

Here, by the way, it is worth noting the incredible professionalism of the craftsmen who managed to perfectly realize Rick’s idea. The tattoos look incredibly stylish and expensive, the image turned out to be solid and complete. The finishing touches, the icing on the cake, were the (relatively few) punctures.

Zombie Guy evoked different feelings in those who looked at his photo. There were also outright haters. But it’s unlikely that he was upset by other people’s opinions, otherwise he would not have carried out such experiments with his own appearance at all.

But there were also many who admired Rick’s crazy photos with all their hearts. He was not like everyone else - and this was very attractive to ordinary people. They wanted to look at him from all sides, to find logic in the drawings on his body. But he also didn’t look like a madman acting on impulse. High-quality execution of the idea, harmonious compositions and brought to logical end the result - all this set him apart from other fans of tattoos with skulls and crossbones. According to professionals, Zombie Boy's tattoo is a real work of art, one of the most outstanding works in the world.

One of those who admired the dark aesthetics of Rick's tattoos was Nicola Formichetti - stylist, producer and good friend Lady Gaga. He was the first to realize that Zombie Boy could become a real breakthrough in show business.

First serious work

Lady Gaga's video for the song Born This Way was the first serious work in Rick Genest's creative career.

Zombie Boy appeared in the frame in a stylish black suit. He doesn't dance, doesn't sing, barely moves and doesn't even smile - but his eyes are glued to the screen. Lady Gaga herself contributed to the triumph by copying his style. The singer was dressed in a similar pantsuit(feminine cut, of course), and her face was decorated with tattoos drawn by the make-up artist - exactly the same as Rick’s.

It is worth noting that filming the video was not only the first step on the path to fame, but also the first brick in the foundation of a strong, sincere friendship that connected Genest and Lady Gaga until the very end.

Zombies in show business

Collaboration with the outrageous singer is just one of Formichetti’s projects. He is also creative director fashion house Mugler. Nikola, as a creative, brave person, who loves everything unusual, decided to bring Zombie Boy to the podium.

Rick first appeared as a model at the Mugler youth collection show in 2011. Since then, he began to be invited to such shows both as a guest and as a model. Offers poured in one after another: the bored elite needed “fresh blood”, Rick really caught the right wave.

By that time, the world had long been crazy about zombies: the number of fans of films, computer games, and thematic festivals was growing by leaps and bounds. Rick was able to bring to life what others could only dream of. He really was what others imagined themselves to be when looking at their gadget screens.

Thanks to his tattoos, Rick Genest also got into the Guinness Book of Records, in two categories at once. He is the person whose body bears the largest number of insects (176) and bones (139).

Unusual projects with the participation of Zombie Guy

Rick Genest has never advertised the details of his private life. He had many friends, but oh serious relationship There are no data with women.

Gossips went on a tirade after his provocative photo shoot with Andrej Pejic, a bisexual model for the Brazilian brand Auslander. It was rumored that the young people were involved in a romantic relationship. But filming was only part of the game - two shockers and hooligans simply decided to join forces to once again shock the public.

And the photos, it’s worth noting, turned out to be very cool: bright Pejic, with his clear eyes and chiseled beauty, and the usual gloomy Zombie Guy Rick Genest. Incredible contrast. Great idea and masterly execution.

Another interesting project- participation in the DERMABLEND cosmetics promotion. Many of those who saw the video, from top-notch marketing specialists to ordinary beauty bloggers, believe that this is the best advertisement for a cosmetic product.

Rick, as usual, is stingy with emotions. But the very fact of his participation in such filming reveals the potential of the advertised product. This video also gives us the opportunity to imagine what Zombie Boy would look like if he didn’t have tattoos.

What is known about Rick's death?

On August 1, 2018, just a week short of his 33rd birthday, Rick Genest committed suicide. Shortly before this, he posted a short poem of his own composition online.

The cause of Rick Genest's death is known to him alone. According to friends, he was a kind and open person who was not at all spoiled by fabulous fees. He had no debts or problems with loved ones, he did not envy anyone and did not suffer from unrequited love.

Psychologists believe that the cause of Rick Genest’s death was old problems that took root in his youth and made themselves felt until the end of his life. Rick was probably just tired. He perceived life as one of his creative projects, and more than once joked about what would happen to him after death. By the way, he was often asked if he was going to bequeath his skin to the anatomical museum, but he invariably answered that after his death, like everyone else, he would encounter worms.

Rick's Legacy

No matter what the haters say, it's impossible not to acknowledge the fact that Rick did something remarkable. He had no end to creative proposals; collectible dolls and costumes are created in his image, which means that there are thousands of times more of those who like his dark beauty.

He was strange person. But everything he undertook, he did with high quality and with maximum dedication.