The model, actor and artist – most famous for his striking tattooed visage – is believed to have passed away on Wednesday night at his home in Montreal. Reports suggest that the cause of Genest’s death was suicide, though this has not been officially confirmed. A source said that Genest was found in his apartment in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood.
The model’s close friend Lady Gaga was one one of the first to publicly speak out about the 47 Ronin star’s death. ‘The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating,’ she wrote.
‘We have to work harder to change the culture, bring Mental Health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can’t talk about it.
‘If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other.’ The star, real name Stefani Germanotta, followed up that initial Twitter post with two more imploring those suffering from mental health issues to reach out to loved ones and professionals. All the posts featured images of Lady Gaga and the late model. The model himself left a haunting and beautiful poem on his Instagram page, his last post before his death.
Titled The Well, the piece reads: ‘O Damballa/lo we howl upon stars hung above/we soul cast down the well of stone/as fire laid betwixt two fates/of most drear less dire straights/each breath cuts ice as flesh is weighed/in front of deaths old narrow gates/where bold and brazen last rites crate. ‘lo heed our wish of madness/deep from os/our prayers we kissed/so stern and cold/on metal shells/release by moonlight glow.’
The model rose to international fame thanks to his striking tattoos, which gave him the appearance of a corpse, and his appearance in Lady Gaga’s Born This Way video. Genest also starred in a number of movies including 47 Ronin opposite Keanu Reeves. As news of his passing broke friends took to social media to pay their respects to Rick.
While he made a name for himself as ‘Zombie boy’, thanks to his defining tattoos, he only began after being treated for a brain tumour when he was younger. He had been on the waiting list for six months and he had spoken of how it left him contemplating his life and death.
Following his successful surgery, he decided he would live on the streets, on rooftops and under bridges, hitchhiking to travel. Genest has spoken openly about being into horror films and punk rock long before he decided to get tattoos. He has also said how, with him growing up in Montreal, he became interested in tattoos as they were so prominent in his culture.
It’s unclear when he had his first tattoo but it was in November 2006, just after he had started his facial tattoos at the age of 20, that he was introduced to the public via a blog post by Veronica Brak and Shannon Larr. He was later interviewed by Veronica Brak, also known as E-Vomit, in March 2008. By this point, he had virtually finished his inkings, which took a total of three years and thousand of dollars to complete.
Soon, media coverage on ‘Zombie Boy’ began to grow and his first movie role came in 2009 in Carny.
That same year, Genest found himself the subject of a Facebook fan page, focusing on his unique tattoos. This page attracted 1,526,292 followers within two years and it helped Nicola Formichetti – Lady Gaga’s fashion director and the creative director of Thierry Mugler – discover him. Genest’s career soon expanded to include modelling with Thierry Mugler signing him up in January 2011 for their men’s collection website.
After meeting Gaga through Formichetti, he then featured in her music video for Born This Way, with Gaga wearing makeup which replicated Genest’s tattoos. Born This Way wasn’t the only music video he appeared in as he also featured in Polish singer Honey’s Sabotage video.