Before hediedof an apparent suicide, Rick “Zombie Boy” Genest worked as an actor and model, most famously appearing inLady Gaga‘s music video for “Born This Way.”
Genest, who lived in Montreal,was found dead in his homeon Wednesday, according toiHeartRadio Canada. He was 32.
The “Million Reasons” singer also shared the sad news on Thursday, confirming he had taken his own life in a social media post.
“The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating,” she wrote in a Tweet honoring the model. “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’re suffering, call a friend or family today,” she added. “We must save each other.”
Here’s a look back at the career career of the late actor and model.
Discovery
“I found Rico on Facebook,” Formichetti toldHint Magazinein 2011, adding that he completely changed his debut collection for Mugler after seeing his photos.
And after showing the photos to Gaga, the singer told Formichetti, “Oh my god, you have to do a show.”
Formichetti went on to pay “ten or twenty” thousand dollars to pay for the fines Genest had accumulated for sleeping on the streets in order to obtain a passport for him so that Genest could walk in the fashion show.
Genest went on to model for magazines such asGQ, Vanity Fair,andVogue Hommes,according toiHeartRadio.
Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock
Born This Way
In 2011, Genest appeared alongsideLady Gagain her music video for single “Born This Way.”
Lady Gaga/Youtube
In the music video, he stood stoically beside the singer, whose face was made up in such a way so as to mimic his distinctive tattoos.
L’Oréal Spokeperson
By 2012, the then-26-year-old model became the first spokesman for L’Oréal’s Demablend Professional Line, according toWWD.
In a video filmed for the brand the previous year, Genest sat in front of a camera with makeup covering his entire body. The makeup was then removed to reveal all of his tattoos.
Genest currently holds a Guinness World Record for the most insect tattoos on his body (a total of 176) as well as another record for the most human bone tattoos at 139.
Acting Work
Having previously appeared in the 2009 movieCarnyat the start of his career, in 2013 he appeared in47 Ronin, a movie also starringKeanu Reeves.He also appeared on two episodes of the British television seriesSilent Witnessin 2017.
F Entertainment/Mid Atlantic Films/Mpc/Stuber Productions/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Tedx Talk
In a TEDx Talk published in June 2017, Genest opened up about how he wasdiagnosed with a brain tumorwhen he was younger.
“By grade 9, that’s when the blackouts started. At first it was only once in a while, but as time passed it was more and more frequent,” he said, recounting waking up “passed out on the bathroom floor…and everything was covered in piss.”
Although at the time his mother suggested he get a humidifier, to see if that would help the problem, after going to a hospital, Genest was told that he had a brain tumor.
“Apparently the tumor was dangerously located millimeters behind my optic-nerve and would need an open-faced surgery procedure,” he continued, adding that after “six months of waiting,” his family was told there was another option: “to go in through the palate of the mouth using laser technology.”
Although it was a brand new procedure at the time, Genest made the decision to have the operation.
“August 7th 2000 they gave me the gas … I stepped out of the hospital as the second person in North America to survive this procedure,” he remarked.
The Canadian native’s birthday is Aug. 7. He would have been 33 this year.
Before his death, Genest was also involved with the Home Depot Canada Foundation to bring awareness to youth homelessness.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to theCrisis Text Lineat 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
