Rick Genest, the fashion icon and artist best
known as Zombie Boy and Rico the Zombie, was
found dead in his home on August 1st, 2018.
Despite his fame, Genest seemed most at home
on the fringes of society and never strayed
far from his punk Montreal roots.
Here's the untold truth of Zombie Boy.
There's still controversy surrounding the
cause of Rick Genest's death.
What is known is that he died after falling
from a third floor balcony at his girlfriend's
apartment building in Montreal, according
to iHeartRadio.
What is unknown is whether the fall was accidental
or intentional.
Initial reports indicated "an apparent suicide,"
but according to USA Today, Genest's family
and his manager pushed back on that conjecture.
His manager pointed out that there was no
note found, and told People magazine,
In his Tedx talk, Genest admitted that he
started having blackouts as a teenager and
was later diagnosed with a brain tumor located
behind his optic nerve.
He had two options: receive a surgery that
would leave his face disfigured or receive
a surgery that had only been successfully
completed in North America once.
If there was ever proof that Genest was destined
to become a model, it's the fact that he chose
the risky surgery and survived.
According to the Daily Star, nearly 50 percent
of his brain was removed.
"I stepped out of the hospital as the second
person in North America to survive this new
state of the art procedure."
Genest claimed his surgery made him think
about the fragility of life and consider the
type of person he wanted to become.
Shortly after treatment, on his 16th birthday,
the model got his first tattoo.
According to The Guardian, he gradually commissioned
more tattoos, until he met Frank Lewis, who
helped him create the idea of a full-body
tattoo with the theme of a rotting corpse.
In 2012, he told the Evening Standard,
Even after finding fame, Genest maintained
a nomadic lifestyle.
In an interview with Wonderland, the star
admitted that he was, in his words, "living
out of [his] backpack; working odd jobs, [and]
meeting cool people."
While many find the idea of homelessness frightening,
Genest said it allowed him to remain entirely
in the moment.
He claimed he was living like a pirate or
one of the lost boys from Hook.
Zombie Boy talked to the Evening Standard
about the five or so years he spent on the
streets dodging cops and enjoying the Montreal
punk scene, saying,
FX's series American Horror Story is scary,
but being faced with a massive, costly lawsuit
is even scarier.
Unfortunately, the network had to learn this
the hard way when actor Evan Peters' makeup
closely resembled Genest's copyrighted tattoos
in Season One.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox worked
out a settlement with Genest to avoid a full-fledged
lawsuit over the look, which could have cost
the network hundreds of thousands of dollars
in copyright infringement charges and editing
to obscure Peters' skeletal makeup in future
airings.
The two parties came to an undisclosed agreement
in October 2012.
Genest told the magazine,
Genest spent a lot of his time in the Montreal
streets, so it only makes sense that's where
he was discovered by L'Oreal, who used him
in its "Go Beyond The Cover" campaign for
its Dermablend brand.
Genest told Makeup.com that Dermablend's marketing
director approached him on the street and
asked him if he wanted to shoot an ad.
Genest agreed, but it was quite an undertaking.
Three makeup artists reportedly spent more
than four hours covering Zombie Boy's body
with Dermablend Leg and Body Cover.
It took about four tubes, but the results
were so captivating that Genest became a spokesman
for the brand.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal
thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
