The man with the skull tattoo has died. "Zombie Boy" Rick Genest died: the cause of death of a world-famous model was named. What Zombie Boy looks like without tattoos

Died actor and part-time model Rick Genest, known under the pseudonym Zombie Boy. The owner of a shocking, flamboyant appearance was recently found dead in his apartment in Canada. It is already known that he committed suicide allegedly on August 1, 2018. The fact and cause of his death has 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 house where he lived, paramedics arrived at the scene when Rick was no longer breathing.

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

Also, relatives believe that if Rick committed suicide, he would have left a suicide note. But they do not deny the fact that recently Rick suffered from a severe mental disorder.

Speaking of his 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 put the post on the auto-timer before committing suicide. He wrote a poem Well about Damballah. We are talking about a mystical entity from the voodoo religion, revered as the creator of all life.

"Oh Damballah.

We howl at the stars hanging from above
Our souls sink into a stone well
Like a fire laid between two destinies,
From 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

Recall that at the age of 15, Genest had an operation to remove a brain tumor. The following year, he got his first tattoo. Later, Montreal artist Frank Lewis covered 90% of Genest's body with tattoos. In this regard, Zombie Boy twice got into the Guinness Book of Records as the person with the most large quantity tattoos of insects and bones.

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 a different angle. You can’t close in on yourself 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 Fight 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 fight will forever remain good friend and man.

Zombie Boy Rick Genest: biography, creativity

Zombie Boy was born and raised in Canada, on August 7 he would have turned 33 years old if a tragic event had not happened. The famous actor and model under the pseudonym Zombie Boy lived with his parent until graduation, immediately after that 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 while living separately. The desire of the guy to get a tattoo in adolescence turned into a hobby, and he inflicted more and more of them on himself.

At the age of 15, Rick Genest had a big trouble, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, after which a very difficult operation awaited him. At some point, the guy thought that he would not be able to survive at all and endure this ordeal. After the treatment was successful and the disease receded, he firmly decided to get his first tattoo. She was dedicated to the victory over 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 that will adorn his body. An assistant in this was the artist Frank Lewis, who created for the guy interesting ideas carrying a certain meaning. Although it may seem that these are just tattoos, but 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 his unusual photos on social networks, they immediately interested a lot of people. In an interview, 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 keepsake, as they were very attracted to the unusual body completely covered with tattoos. Soon he became interested famous designer and offered to be a model for his collection. This was the beginning of the creative path of a guy known under the pseudonym Zombie fight.

Genest started his career living on the street and doing small freak shows all over Canada. Later, several well-known bloggers wrote about him, and he began to receive offers of cooperation from the media. During his career he has worked with Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair.

Widespread fame came to Genest in 2011, when he starred in the video "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga, who was then at the peak of popularity. After that, Genest played several roles in feature films (the most famous - "47 Ronin" with Keanu Reeves), and also took up writing music. However, he continued to work as a model.

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

The death of the world-famous model Rick Genest became known on August 3, he called himself "Zombie Boy" and all thanks to tattoos, because of which his body looked like a skeleton.

Zombie Boy Rick Genest died, committed suicide

Despite his unusual appearance, he became famous after he starred in the video of the famous singer Lady Gaga, who was his girlfriend. Then everyone just shocked him appearance, because there was practically no free space on his body, and those tattoos that were made were somehow connected with death.

Those who knew him said that the guy had certain mental problems and suicide, and it is this version that is being put forward now, only a consequence of his thoughtless tattoos.

The Canadian model was only 32 years old and was twice listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the largest number of insect tattoos (there are 176 of them) and bone designs (139 pieces).

He participated in fashion shows, starred for magazines, regularly appeared in various television shows.

He was found in his home in Montreal, and he was only a week short of his birthday.

On August 2, an entry appeared on his Instagram page, where a ring of light was depicted in darkness, and a poem about Dambala was also written, where we are talking about the mystical essence of the voodoo religion.

Lady Gaga, announcing the death of Zombie Boy, urged subscribers not to run their mental health and treat it carefully.

Cause of death Zombie Boy

Modeling agency Dulcedo Management said Genest was not taking drugs and was sober at the time of his death.

Gaga herself was one of the first to react to the sad news and expressed her condolences on Twitter:

The suicide of my friend Rick Genest is just awful. We should work harder to change the culture and pay more attention to mental health, we need to get rid of prejudices that we cannot talk about. If you are suffering, call a family or friend today. We must take care of each other,” she wrote.

Zombie Boy left a mystical message before his death

Canadian model Rick Genest (Zombie Boy) published a poem of his own composition on social networks before his death. As Life notes, the verse is dedicated to Damballah, a mystical entity from the voodoo religion.

The entry appeared on Genest's page on August 2. Most likely, he put the publication on the auto-timer before committing suicide.

In the poem, Genest calls out to Damballah and asks her to "hear the longing for madness deep within" and "fierce prayers".

«<…>Each breath cuts the ice, as the flesh is weighed before death by the old narrow gate, where the bold and insolent last ritual is, ”Life translates the poem. Rambler reports.

Zombie Boy suicide made Lady Gaga think about the barriers in society

The suicide of Zombie Boy (real name Rick Genest) made American singer Lady Gaga think about the barriers in society.

The young man starred in her video for the song Born This Way.

The artist urged to talk about mental problems.

“The suicide of my friend Rick Genest is more than devastating. If you are suffering, call a friend or relatives,” said the singer.

She noted that in society it is necessary to change such barriers and talk about their problems, save each other.

Zombie fight, biography

Rick Genest, the zombie boy's name from birth, was born as a sweet little boy in Chateaugues, Quebec in 1985. He was the eldest child in a family of hard workers. He lived for himself, like all other children, no different from his peers. In something discrediting the honor of the family, the then little Rick zombie boy Genest was not noticed. The turning point in his life happened at school age.

The reason for the change in appearance

Rick Genest, while still in school, underwent major surgery to remove a tumor in his brain. Parents no longer hoped to see the child alive, as the situation remained critical for a long time. It was at that moment between life and death that Rick Genest reconsidered his attitude towards the latter, the Therussiantimes website informs. He became, in his words, "depending on death." Apparently, the doctors removed not only the tumor, but also part of the gray matter, because instead of being grateful to God for the miraculous healing and enjoying every day lived, the zombie fight began to play and joke with death. He regularly ran to tattoo parlors to turn into a zombie.

social activities zombie boy

Rick Genest before tattoos was an uninteresting American teenager. Now, photos of the zombie battle are on the glossy pages of fashion magazines. For a zombie boy, it doesn’t matter that he looks so that people with weak nerves have gagging. For his 32 years, Rick Genest has already starred in Lady Gaga's video, works as a model, maintains a personal blog and acts as a prototype for creating children's dolls.

Zombie Boy had a background in DJing and acting, although people look at him rather than listen to his music and evaluate acting.

Personal life of Zombie Boy

Rick Genest often abused alcohol, smoked and led a nocturnal lifestyle. From the fate of a quiet wino, zombie boy was saved only by fame in the world because of tattoos.

They began to say that Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy, got married. A photo of Rick Genest recently appeared on the network, in which the guy and his wife pose for a photo shoot. Became the chosen one for zombies, you will be surprised now ... Andrej Pejic, a bisexual model from Croatia. Whether the young couple was really bound by love and marriage, or is this another PR move by an expressive man, time will tell.

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 in 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 music video and the film 47 Ronin. The skeleton tattoo brought Rick worldwide fame. He is considered one of the most outstanding personalities in modern history.

The history of tattooing a skeleton began when the guy was 16 years old. Over the next 6 years, the guy covered the body with a tattoo, which eventually led to the current version. Looking at the face of a man with a skeleton tattoo, we really see a skull that seems to be visible through the thin skin of a guy. It is noteworthy that the tattoo accurately displays all the elements of the skull and corresponds to all sizes of Rick's skull.

Rick's body looks like 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 to radically differ from others. According to Genest, this is not the end, there are a lot of details that need to be improved.

According to fans of decorating their bodies with tattoos, the meaning of a skeleton tattoo is associated with the other world, death, the transience of a life of 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 should not be afraid of it.

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


One of the most famous freaks and perhaps the most famous tattooed guy in the fashion world, Rick Genes, better known as Zombie Boy, has been found dead after falling from a height at his home in Canada. His death is still surrounded by speculation, the official reason has not yet been announced, but Lady Gaga, with whom Zombie Boy collaborated 7 years ago, was one of the first to react to his death in her official publics.

32-year-old Rick Genest was famous throughout the world as Zombie Boy because of his tattoos, which completely covered his body from head to toe. You can see it in ads cosmetics Dermablend, in Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" video, in the movie "47 Ronin" with Keanu Reeves and on the catwalk at fashion shows of numerous brands.


Rick Genest's name has been listed twice in the Guinness Book of Records. Once as the person with the most bone tattoos on their body - there were as many as 139 at the time of the record, and the second time - as the person with the most insect tattoos - 176.


Rick's family believes that his death was a tragic accident - he could not stay on the balcony when he smoked. Moreover, no suicide note from the police could be found. Police say the most likely cause of his death is suicide. One way or another, on August 1, 2018, a 32-year-old guy fell from the 4th floor and did not manage to survive after this fall.


“The suicide of my friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy, just devastated me,” Lady Gaga tweeted. “We need to work harder to ensure that any problems with the mental state of people are no longer a stigma. If you feel bad, call your family or friends. We have to save each other."

Lady Gaga's posts are explained by the fact that Rick Genest suffered from mental disorders. Although no one specifies what exactly bothered Zombie Boy, for the people with whom he spent a lot of time, this fact was not new.


Eight years ago, Zombie Boy was opened to the general public by Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga's stylist and creative director French fashion house MUGLER. Rick, who began getting his tattoos at the age of 16, by that time already stood out from the people around him. The reason for this was a strong experience - at the age of 15 he was diagnosed with a tumor in the brain, and he had to spend six months waiting for brain surgery, which could have the most catastrophic consequences for a teenager.


His goal was to make tattoos that mimic the inside of a person - so that Rick's skull could be seen as a brain tattoo, his face imitated a bare skull, and almost all the bones were traced over his body.


Despite his provocative appearance, and perhaps because of it, Zombie Boy was invited to fashion shows as models in Paris and New York several times. In addition, he has appeared in many famous magazines, including GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue Hommes.