The extraordinary life of the Zombie Boy

The real name of the famous model, actor and tattoo fan is Rick Genest. He was born in 1985 in Quebec, Canada and died in 2018 due to a fall from his balcony. It is unclear whether this fall was intentional on his part or an accident.

At the age of 19 he decided to get a tattoo and become a "zombie". Even before he became famous, his friends gave him the name "Zombie" because of his tattoos but also because of his love for horror movies and his barely survived tumor surgery. When he had decorated his body with tattoos for the most part, he started to work in circus "freak shows" and for example lay down on a nail board. This got him more and more attention, especially online. His breakthrough and worldwide fame came from Nicola Formichetti, a fashion director for whom he did modeling assignments and who introduced him to Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga decided that he should star in her music video for "Born this way". By that time he had already had about 90% of his body tattooed. He went on to work for many major fashion labels and shoot commercials for international companies. In a promotional video for a makeup brand, he had all of his tattoos painted over with skin paint, then washed back down in the video. When all his tattoos were covered over, he said, "Looks the same to me. I guess I'm used to being in my skin". In his opinion, makeup is also a way to express yourself.

For some time he held the "Guinness World Record" for the most insect tattoos, a whopping 176, and the most tattooed human bones, a total of 139. He also told in interviews that he wasn't done with his transformation and bodymodification. He had just had his tongue split and still wanted to get his teeth sharpened and his eyes tattooed green. Rick Genest said that he has never regretted his tattoos and that he also wants to encourage other people to be different.

"Don't be afraid to be different."

Even if in the meantime, one year after the demise of the Zombie Boy an accident seems plausible, it should be mentioned in spite of everything that for mental problem solving you can contact the telephone counselling at any time. The people are voluntarily 365 days a year from 0-24 o'clock available for you and help gladly to win new courage for life. Simply call: 0800 - 111 0 111 further information on the homepage of the telephone counselling service.

"Talking helps..."