Zombie Boy

There are three topics that Rick Genest — the 26-year-old Nicola Formichetti muse, Lady Gaga collaborator, entrepreneur and, as of last week, freshly appointed spokesman for L’Oréal’s Dermablend Professional line more commonly known as “Zombie Boy” or “Rico the Zombie” — likes to talk about. They are: music; his aggregation of body-covering tattoos in an effort to resemble a living, walking, rotting corpse; and Lucifer’s Blasphemous Mad Macabre Torture Carnival, his Montreal-based “traveling circus-freak show.”

On a bright and cold morning during New York Fashion Week in February, Colin Singer, Genest’s immigration lawyer-cum-manager (his official title is managing partner of rickgenest.com), lists each on his fingers as his client smokes outside the MAve Hotel in the Flatiron District, where they are staying. Genest spent the day and the next sitting front row at runway shows for designers like Nicholas K, Duckie Brown and General Idea. Following New York, he traveled to Milan, Moscow and Copenhagen for various fashion weeks and tattoo-festival-related appearances.

Genest attended the Cannes International Film Festival last month, and the Web-based October 2011 advertisement he shot with Dermablend — before becoming its official spokesman for the next two years — is nominated for a Lion Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity that runs until Saturday. He is the brand’s first male spokesmodel. In the Dermablend “Go Beyond the Cover” video, which ran under the tag line “How do you judge a book?” a clear-skinned Genest stares at the camera and strips nude to the waist before rubbing off concealer to reveal the bones, ligaments, insects and lung-size radioactive symbol emblazoned across his skin. The video has over 15 million hits and has spawned endless debates on Internet forums, where teens argue that he was “beautiful before the makeup” and bemoan the shallow nature of society. He has more than 60,000 Twitter followers, who voice their rabid adoration and clamor for his “Kill Me” T-shirts and flat-brim caps. His personal Web site has a merchandise section, which also offers skateboards with his image.

Genest is less a model than a “personality,” lacking the mutability of the former — his career thus far has depended on various companies with a desire to have a member of the walking dead representing their brand. The Dermablend deal is the most visible in a portfolio of associations he’s amassed with his unique skill set since his arrival on fashion’s radar two years ago. In April, Giantto watches released an advertisement featuring Genest with the tag line “Time Waits for No One.” In May, he appeared in editorials for Elle France, Die Presse and Tattoo Savage and covered Factice and Slave magazines. He has a cameo as a combative pirate in Universal Studios’ 3-D fantasy-adventure Samurai film “47 Ronin” starring Keanu Reeves, set to be released in February. This month, Tonner Doll Co. revealed plans for a Rico the Zombie Boy collectible doll, to be released for San Diego Comic-Con. He will attend the convention and sign dolls for fans.

Back on the streets of New York, the Zombie Boy is not camouflaged by his baseball hat, studded leather vest and bedazzled Stevie Boi sunglasses (Genest collaborated with the designer on the specs). Pedestrians on Madison Avenue turn to stare at the skull tattooed on his face, the innards and insects and angry words inked on his exposed arms. Genest has enormous black headphones over his ears and is jabbing the air and gently rocking back and forth in a heel-toe move. He’s in a mosh pit of one as he listens to Cypress Hill, who he later says are “pretty good.”

On the roof of the MAve Genest sits in a plastic folding chair and lifts his chin slightly as if ready for a punch. He gently thumps his seat with the heel of his hand like a heartbeat as he talks. He has the manner of someone who’s always aware of the exits in case he needs to make a quick getaway. The awkwardness disappears when it is time for the photo shoot.

“Comes with having a reflection, I guess,” Genest says of his natural poise, as he performs a move referred to in gymnastics as an “inverted Iron Cross” on the fire escape and everything falls out of his pockets.

“I got my first tattoo, an outline of a skull and crossbones, when I was 16,” Genest says, pointing to his left shoulder and exposing a long thick scar down his right forearm. “I’d always wanted tattoos. I’d see them on the bus or on TV or in movies.”

His knuckles read “EVIL” and “DEAD” — “It’s like, if you’re dead, you’re evil at the same time,” he says — and his right forearm reads “THE SAW IS FAMILY” near the scar, the meaning of which he doesn’t address. In a 2010 interview with Canadian magazine Dressed to Kill, Genest alleged that the Montreal police broke his arm after he stole candy from a convenience store.

Formichetti found him through Facebook after reading the profile, hiring him for the Thierry Mugler 2010 campaign and flying him to Paris for the men’s show.

“I love New York…Ever since I got my passport the world’s just kind of opened up,” Genest says, citing a preference for Spanish culture over French.

“It’s a little too classy,” he says of Paris. “I like more getting down in the dirt, you know?”

Over the past decade, Genest has spent tens of thousands of dollars on the tattoos, which he refers to as “[my] project…if I get a couple of weeks off I’ll go get more. I’ve got a couple of blank spots, I’ve got to finish my project. It develops, you know, with time.”

He estimates that over 80 percent of his body is inked, and says that the most painful places were his eyes, nose, ears, throat and pressure points.

The decision to get a tattoo takes an instant, the actual inking usually less than an hour. Prices vary on the artist and the level of complication involved. Removal procedures are imperfect, expensive, painful and generally take months, if not years.

“I don’t wear [concealer] except in the ads, and some fashion shows,” Genest says.

He cites the timing of his first tattoo with “around when I started living downtown [in Montreal],” when he joined a group of his friends (they now comprise the rest of Lucifer’s troupe) on the streets. He made money as a “bum, a squeegee boy.” Genest’s carnival act involves lying on a bed of nails and some “flesh-pulling techniques.” His fellow troupe members spit fire and swallow swords, among other performance pieces. They perform in English and French. It seems to be the only profession that he actually wants.

All he will say of future endeavors with Formichetti and Lady Gaga is that they’re “going back and forth.” Of the Dermablend deal, he shrugs, “It’s cool.”

Genest is not worried by the notoriously fickle nature of the fashion industry, whose sudden acceptance and support could just as quickly disappear.

“I respect the industry,” he qualifies. “I’ve always surrounded myself with artists. I’ve always loved being around the art scene and the fashion world and designing sets and props and all of that. That’s all showmanship, that’s all art.”

Ever the performer, Genest is currently pursuing DJing acts alongside a possible career as a recording artist. For a person who has so wholeheartedly embraced his own finality, he puts few limits on his future. “Music sounds great, I’d love to cut an album, but I’ve got to learn how to do the kind of music I like. I’ve got to figure it out,” Genest says, when questioned about life beyond modeling.

“I’ve got to learn how to do stilts,” he perks up. “I want to stilt walk. When the fashion show is over, I want to go back to the circus.”

Source: http://www.wwd.com/eye/people/the-zombie-boy-survival-guide-5973051

- Rick Genest

World-famous collectibles company announces their 2012 SDCC Exclusive: Rico the Zombie Boy! Zombie Boy will make a special appearance in Tonner’s SDCC booth (#4149) for two signing sessions to take place on Friday the 13th of July.

Tonner Doll Company, a mainstay in the high-end collectibles industry for more than 20 years, announces their 2012 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive: Zombie Boy. The tattooed wonder Zombie Boy himself will be in attendance for two special signings in the Tonner booth. The two signings will take place in booth 4149 on Friday, the 13th of July (bwahhahaha!) at 11am and 3pm.

Featured in Lady Gaga’s Born This Way music video, model and performer Rick Genest (Zombie Boy) is a human canvas, with 80% of his body covered in tattoos. Genest’s body art depicts the human form as it decomposes into a corpse, flesh-eating insects and all. His special art display has earned him two admissions into the Guinness book of World Records: one for the most bones tattooed on the body (134), and one for the most insects tattooed on the body (176).

“My tattoos symbolize life through death, or death through life,” Genest said in a “Meet Zombie Boy” article featured on Dermablend®’s website, where he is a brand ambassador. “They’ve been a part of me forever – before I even got them done. They reveal how I feel on the inside. I’m so used to how I look now that I don’t see them anymore.”

Discovered by Lady Gaga’s personal stylist and Creative Director of fashion powerhouse Thierry Mugler Nicola Formichetti, Genest first appeared on the fashion scene when he was featured by Mugler in the Paris fashion show in January 2011. In addition to walking runways for Mugler and other designers in Milan, Berlin, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Rio, New York and Toronto, Genest has become the face of Dermablend in its award winning Go beyond The Cover video which attracted more than 15 Million views and 650,000 likes on its Facebook. In the process he has become a social media phenomenon, with more than 66,000 Twitter fans and 66,000 Likes on Facebook. Visit his website at http://RickGenest.com, http://www.facebook.com/ricothezombie and http://twitter.com/ricothezombie.

“When I first saw Rick in a magazine, I was instantly fascinated,” said Robert Tonner, CEO and celebrated doll artist and designer. “There was something so visually arresting about his super edgy look juxtaposed with sophisticated, tailored clothes.”

The Zombie Boy Character Figure™ will be 17” tall, and boasts hand-painted details and will feature a replica of Genest’s intricate body art, and also include his facial piercing between his eyes. With Tonner’s multiple points of articulation for dynamic poses and quality craftsmanship, this Zombie Boy Character Figure™ pulls out all the stops.

“This was one of the most challenging and fun projects I’ve worked on in a long time,” said Tonner. “We are really excited that Rick is going to be joining us at Comic Con, it’s going to be a real treat to have such a special guest in our booth.”

You can get the Zombie Boy Character Figure™ at the 2012 SDCC in Tonner’s booth (#4149), as well as on their website, http://www.tonnerdoll.com. He is a limited edition size of just 500 pieces.

For more information, or to see the vast collection of comic book heroes Tonner has to offer, visit http://www.tonnerdoll.com.

NEW YORK, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After receiving world-wide international success with the launch of the online video "Go Beyond the Cover," starring Rick Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, Dermablend Professional, the #1 dermatologist recommended coverage brand, is pleased to continue its relationship with Genest, the brand's first-ever male model, as its official spokesperson.

Since its debut last October, the video has received over 15 million views and more than 650,000 shares on Facebook. The campaign won a grand prize for the digital category at the prestigious advertising CREA Awards in Montreal, two awards in the categories of Best Branded Viral Video and Best Art Direction during the third edition of the Bees Awards (the first international awards focused on social media) in San Francisco, as well as in the digital video category of the Brand Innovators award, which took place in New York City. "Go Beyond the Cover," was also picked as Mashable.com's most innovative viral ads of 2011.

Brilliantly executed, the video proves that you can't judge a book by its cover and shows the reverse process of covering up Genest's tattoos using Dermablend's Leg and Body Cover and Tattoo Primer. The video has a real shock factor since it opens with Genest's skin looking completely flawless and shows that without the Dermablend products, he is actually covered in tattoos.

"Rick has become a global icon because of his unique head-to-toe skeletal tattoos and Dermablend Professional is honored to have him as our official spokesperson," said Renee Mininni, assistant vice president of marketing for Dermablend Professional. "He is the perfect canvas to exemplify the flawless coverage that Dermablend Professional products provide."

"It's an honor to partner with Dermablend Professional and spread the important message that no individual should be judged based on appearance alone," said Genest, who first gained attention after appearing in Lady Gaga's video "Born This Way." "People are often too quick to judge a person based on outward appearances instead of realizing an individual's true character."

Dermablend is thrilled to see how this partnership will make the brand flourish and looks forward to the new exciting ideas and campaigns that are to come.

For 30 years, Dermablend Professional has been helping people put their best face forward with its line of coverage cosmetics. From tattoos to under eye circles to more serious skin conditions, Dermablend Professional provides an array of products that deliver reliable coverage.

"Go Beyond the Cover" can be seen at www.gobeyondthecover.com and on the Dermablend Professional Facebook page.

Dermablend Professional can be purchased at Macy's, Ulta, Dillard's and also at select Lord & Taylor, Bon Ton, Carsons and Boscovs locations, and online at www.dermablend.com.

SOURCE Dermablend

Exclusive Interview with Zombie Boy Rick Genest by MojoSupreme

Zombies are certainly having their moment in the sun. Vampires, of course, can’t stand up to the harsh light of day and quickly wilt, while zombification renders one immune to heliophobia or, indeed, fear of any kind whatsoever.

We’re not sure what French Canadian model, circus performer, and found art object Rick Genest is afraid of, but we’re pretty certain the list does not include needles.

His anatomical tattoos paint 80% of his body, including his entire torso, neck, and head, in a fascinating portrait of the components of human life—the kind we can generally only see after the subject is dead. Thus, his whole body is transformed into a work of morbid yet humanitarian art.

Thanks to his discovery last year by Nicola Formichetti of French fashion house Thierry Mugler, Genest has become a high-fashion totem, and he appeared in a Lady Gaga video which backdropped the winter Mugler fashion show. He has toured the world with Lady Gaga and modeled in Paris for Mugler, which was actually the first time he’d ever left Canada.

Genest is also something of a social media phenomenon, with 13,330 likes on Facebook and 66,478 followers on Twitter. His tattoo project, which is ongoing, has reportedly cost Genest $17,000 so far, which is probably still less than Kim Kardashian spends on waxing in a year.

For all these reasons, plus the fact he is simply physically breathtaking to look at, we are featuring Genest as today’s Morning GIF. This image was posted to the Lady Boner Tumblr and has 126 notes; there are other shots of Genest on that blog with more, but this one is our favorite for its eloquent and poignant simplicity.

Source: http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/morning-gif-zombie-boy-tattoos/

Last week my manager Colin and I hung out at the Cannes Film Festival for a couple of award ceremonies. By night we checked out some rad parties! While we were out there, I was featured in a documentary film for the French channel Arte called Super Heros. We even managed to fit in a studio shoot with the amazingly talented Patrizio Di Renzo.

Then, the week before that, I was in Moscow, guest-appearing at the Soho Lounge, and after that, the Moscow International Tattoo Convention, promoted by Club Arena. The coolest part of my Moscow trip has got to be hands-down the after-party at Rolling Stone Bar. There I DJ’d with my new bros VJ Chuck of MTV Russia and Artem Gnus of Billboard Russia. These guys are stone-cold cool! Spinning wickedly eclectic tracks! …but yeah, they loved my set of stuff, featuring Keny Arkana and others… This is my love; sharing art internationally, and that’s exactly where I wanna be.

Now that I’m back in Montreal, I wanna share a band with you guys; The Unsettlers, an incredible eleven-piece based out in Montreal (think Tom Waits meets The Pogues). They’re quite a contrast to my previous recommendation, Keny Arkana, but they really know how to entertain the crowd with their insanely original material. Be sure to check these guys out! They deserve the attention.

Just so you know, I’m looking through and listening to all the music you’ve been sending in. Thanks for all your recommendations – I’ve had emails from people in Pittsburgh, Chicago, even Germany and the UK! I’m still accepting submissions (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) and I’ll feature my personal favorites here and on my own website by end of summer.

Click the image above to view the show

Balancing between dreams and nightmares, fantasy, decadence andmadness, my photographic work provides a view of the world andintrospective depths of the human species. The photographs gobeyond the surface and try to open doors to other dimensions(psychological, philosophical, sociological) leading to a reflection upon the construction or destruction of identity and human behaviour.

Through working in a cinematographic way I'm trying to create characters who are confronted with themselves, others and the world.Each photograph is an autonomous piece of work, containing differentlevels of interpretation. The spectator gets invied to enter these worlds andreflect upon them.

I met Rick Genest in Paris last December. His personal story touched me, and this has created in me the desire to pursue this collaboration.

When I work with someone, I don't care whether this person is known or not. I care only about the human behind the mask.

Rico took the exact measure of his personal experience by going beyond the limit of his thinking and his being. He accepted his scars and went beyond, building a personal thought for all.

He is one of the perfect example of why I do photography. As a human, andas model, he represents some of the main lines of my artistic world.

A true icon in our contemporary and virtual world, he summons these issues that affect us all: our relationship to our bodies, to life and death, to others,-even the desire of metamorphosis, evolution, being honest withhimself and his impulses.

If the tattoo culture is becoming more and more a fad, it still remains a culture of extreme for some media and much of public opinion.

The judgments that undergo this kind of people are interesting and show manyborders of the human and social relations, even if they change over time.The tattoo and body modification are part of the many themes that inspire me, whether in image, or in thoughts.

“The road is still long, I'm young and I still have many things to express...”

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Source: http://www.slavemag.com/

A l'occasion du festival de Cannes, Tracks déroule le tapis rouge pour Rick Genest, dit Zombie Boy, un superhéros en chair et en os!

Son nom ne vous dit rien mais son visage vous est connu. Lady Gaga ou Thierry Mugler ont déjà adopté ce self-made monster. Tatoué de la tête aux orteils, Rick a tapissé son corps de 176 insectes et 139 os, histoire d'incarner un cadavre en putréfaction. Il est alors devenu ce que dans le monde mystérieux des sidehows on appelait les "Human Marvels", les "Merveilles Humaines". Dans les années 30, ces hommes qui avaient décidé de se transformer en bêtes de foire inspirent les créateurs de superhéros. "Marvel Comics" inonde alors la planète avec les exploits de ces "merveilles" et aujourd'hui au cinéma, de "The Avengers" à "Batman", c'est la super invasion.

Héros de l'exposition parisienne "Beautiful People", mannequin pour la fashion week ou performeur dans son freakshow, comme Superman, Zombie Boy a toujours un truc sur le feu. Mais pour Tracks, le canadien de 26 ans a bien voulu faire une exception. Une interview exclusive pour une émission très spéciale.

Pour cette nuit fantastique, Zombie Boy a rameuté ses amis superhéros:

Le vétéran du Vietnam Ron Kovic, dont le courage inspira le film "Né un 4 juillet" réalisé par Oliver Stone ou la chanson de Bruce Springsteen "Shut Out The Light". Depuis 40 ans l'homme de fer fait la guerre à la guerre.

Les "hommes beignets". Avec Fukushima, le Japon connaît une flambée de ces incroyables mutants qui modifient leur visage à coup d'injections salines.

Le superhéros du ring "Flesh Gordon" : le tonton catcheur aplatit ses adversaires à la vitesse de l'éclair.

Des podiums moscovites aux catacombes parisiennes, suivez les aventures de Zombie Boy. Le 26 mai à 23h30 sur Arte, on bouge son squelette avec ce Tracks spécial superhéros!

Hätte er nicht an der Seite von Lady Gaga (selbst kein Kind von Traurigkeit) im Musikvideo zu „Born this Way“ geschunkelt, so würde Rick Genest wohl noch als von der Weltöffentlichkeit weitgehend ignorierter Tattoo-Weltrekordhalter, Performer und Va- rietékünstler in der Punk-Subkultur seiner Heimatstadt Montreal leben und allemal mit seiner Furcht einflößenden Freakshow-Trup- pe, dem „Lucifer’s Blasphemous Mad Macabre Torture Carnival“, durch die Lande touren. Das Schicksal wollte es aber anders und trieb ihn dem einflussreichen Stilguru Nicola Formichetti, seines Zeichens Gaga-Intimus, in die Hände. Und selbst, wenn Genest in der Folge zur Projektionsfläche für die Kaprizen der Mode avancierte (Formichetti schickte ihn wiederholt für Thierry Mugler über den Laufsteg), ihm selbst ging es bei seinem Langzeit-Tätowierprojekt keineswegs in erster Linie um das Bekannt- oder Berühmtwerden. Der 26-jährige Kanadier folgt vielmehr einem Gestaltungsdrang, der sozusagen in oder gar unter die Haut geht. Seine Freunde nennen ihn ja „Rico Zombie“ – den Spitznamen trägt er seit einem Spitalaufent- halt in seiner Kindheit, als er wegen eines Gehirntumors behandelt wurde. Ohne sich in Haushaltspsychologie üben zu wollen, könnte man mutmaßen, dass diese extreme Erfahrung Genest später wage- mutige Experimente mit sich selbst treiben ließ. Ein Tattoo-Artist in seiner Heimat erkannte seine bedingungslose Bereitschaft, sich unter die Nadel zu legen – Frank Lewis machte aus dem Zombie-Boy das wandelnde Skelett, von dem sich, wie Genest meint, auf der Straße manch ein Passant erschreckt abwendet. „Schön ist, wer echt ist“, schickt er aber nach und macht auch keinen Hehl daraus, an der Mode kein besonders ausgeprägtes Interesse zu hegen. Sein Mittel der Selbstinszenierung ist schließlich ein extremeres und über die Flüchtigkeit des verhüllenden Gewandes erhaben. In einem der un- zähligen Videos, die von ihm im Internet kursieren, sieht man übri- gens, wie er mit stark deckender Camouflage-Schminke zu einem jungen Mann ganz ohne Körperschmuck umgemodelt wird. Das ist dann irgendwie nicht minder unheimlich als sein üblicher Skelett- Look. Offenbar ist eben auch das Freaksein relativ.

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