Rock (father), Catheryne (mother) Cara (sister) and Micah (brother).
We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those throughout the world who offered their sympathy and condolences during our difficult time of mourning.
No public funeral service will take place. A commemoration will be held in Rick’s honour.
On August 18, from 1h00 to 4h00 at Chateauguay Community Church 111 rue Lauzon, Châteauguay, QC, Canada
For more information please contact by Messenger: Cara Connors
‘Zombie Boy’ being remembered in Montreal as ‘a kind and gentle soul’
Circus artist Jennifer Bobette, who knew him for 18 years, said the soft-spoken friend she called “Zombie” lived “two different lives.”
She said he never brought up his fame when he was home in Montreal, where he was part of a community of punks and artists living in a building known as the Fattal lofts near railroad tracks in the St-Henri neighbourhood.
“He had a famous life, where he was going and doing video clips with Lady Gaga, but when he was home at Fattal he was never talking about that, he became the Zombie we always knew,” said Bobette, who preferred to give only her stage name.
I just found out that Rick Genest died a week ago? He was pretty much the face of 2011-2012 tumblr grunge aesthetic, you couldn’t scroll down your dash without edgy gifs of him coming up. He dies and I don’t see a single thing about it on here? Wild. :/
Hello world, this is Karim Leduc speaking, Rico’s manager and friend. It was me who took the impulsive decision yesterday, while grieving and right before the news broke, to share with you one of his last poems written because I knew social media is where the entire world would turn to and for me I felt it was important for something entirely his to be there. Rico was a very gifted writer and poetry was his favorite art. Looking back I wish we could’ve shared his gift earlier with the world, and that was the plan through a very special project we were working on, more information on this will soon be revealed. While we are still putting the pieces of our hearts back together, my team and I realize that my impulsive reaction could have lead to rumours surrounding his death and it was suggested to us that we archive that post until later. For all of this confusion I apologize, I have unarchived the post and hope all of you know that Rico was a one-of-kind and that while his death is apparent to a suicide, his family and myself believe his fall was an unitentional accident. Please spread the word, this man was nothing but bright love. Thank you xx
I’m glad they issued a statement, but I wish they would have done it a lot sooner instead of letting people think his last words were being silenced.
I can’t believe it. Zombie Boy’s management deleted his last post from his Instagram account. They tried to silence his last words. How dare they. Those in charge of his career have never really been that good to him. I remember a while back, reading a Facebook post of his, saying his first manager wouldn’t even allow him access to his official social media sites (the public figure ones). And now this manager tries to silence him. That’s just wrong. I hope they have a good reason for doing this to him, I just can’t think of anything that would justify it. They may have deleted the photo from his IG account, but luckily People magazine was able to get his final words prior to the deletion.
OMG. I knew he had been struggling for a long time, but had no idea he recently took his own life. I’ve never met him, but based on his social media, he always seemed like such a caring guy with a huge heart. It’s heartbreaking to hear of his passing. He was one of a kind and will definitely be missed. Rest in peace, Rico.
For a long time, tattoos were looked down upon everywhere. People wouldn’t be hired because they had a small tattoo on their arm or leg, and long sleeves were necessary in job interviews. This was especially true with models in the fashion world, for their body was basically a canvas and if they got a tattoo, it would be considered them “dirtying the canvas.” However, over the past couple of years, that mindset has changed. Not only are tattoos accepted, but they are sometimes even celebrated. Rick Genest, pictured above, got tattoos all over his body, and didn’t even attempt to be a model. Pictures of him surfaced the internet, and, all of a sudden, he was wanted for very notable fashion shows. Furthermore, Cara Delevingne, one of the most used and highest paid models in the last couple of years, started to get more recognized for her iconic tattoos. Her detailed lion tattooed on her finger, or even the “Bacon” word on her foot, were now seen in major magazines. Fake tattoos are even drawn on models in order to create an “edgier” look.
Tattoos may still have a stigma, but the fashion world is now making it more acceptable to have them. No longer dirtying the canvas but rather adding beauty to the body, tattoos are becoming much more mainstream.
VisitWWW.ILLUSTRASHION.COM to order the latest issue of ILLUSTRASHION Magazine – “VANITAS”, featuring Zombie Boy and showcasing over 130 pages of beyond creativity, fully packed with exclusive illustrations from renowned creatives! HO HO HO
Model, artist, actor and musician Rick Genest, also known as “Zombie Boy,” who was featured in the music video for Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” He also made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for his tattoos. Born August 7th, 1985 in Canada, Rick tragically committed suicide on August 1st, 2018. He will be missed.
