If you haven’t heard of Montreal’s Zombie Boy (Rick Genest) he was recently discovered via Facebook. He opened the Thierry Mugler Fall 2011 show during Paris Fashion Week. and was also featured in Lady Gaga’s Born this Way music video. Genest is the star in the Mugler Fall 2011 ad campaign.
When I saw the Born this Way video I just figured they both were painted to be zombies. I never for a second thought he was heavily tatted. I can’t even begin to fathom how much a nose tattoo would hurt.
Currently he is working on his legs to finish the “project.”
Want to follow his career? Click here to like him on Facebook.
What do you think art or just plain creepy? I think hes made himself a work of art, but by the time he’s 80 he might be downright (more) scary looking.
It’ll scare the crap out of me if I see him at night! :S And by the time he’s 80, his skin is going to be all saggy! Ew!
Wonder what his mom thinks of this??? LOL!
I vote for creepy
Icky – truly waiting for the zombie apocalypse!
definitely very very creepy!!!
I’m all for body art, but this seems a little extreme.
creepy!!
Intense….
Wonder what he’ll think about his tats when he’ll be 75-80 years old…
I’M a RN and I can just picture myself entering his hospital room and having the fright of my life…
WEIRD, but to each his own i suppose
Very creepy!!
I think it’s looking to get noticed he did that. And when people look at he’s probably frustrated at being watched.
What will happen when he has children?
he knows how to market himself..what else can you say
Love it but couldn’t imagine ever having something permanent like that on my face.
I wonder if he’ll regret this later on in life when he’s old and wrinkled. Yikes! Hmm, I vote for creepy art
Exactly! I too am all for art and expressing oneself be it body modifications or otherwise…but like any reasonable person, I agree that this is very extreme and he’s purely thinking “in the now.” It’s cool now, but when he’s older…on the other hand, think of all the money he must be making right now!
To each their own…but WOW! I love tattoos but that is a bit much for me.
I live in Montreal, and since he’s from the place, the day he appeared in Gaga’s video, he was the talk-about! There were lots of interviews in the local papers and don’t forget that the guy has a passion for tattoo. It is actually pretty cool to read about him. And knowing what his art made for him (i.e. going from homeless to supermodel for mugler) I don’t see why he would regret his tattoos… even as a 80 years old.
The other day, I saw him while crossing the street and he’s not creepy. And call me crazy, but I thought he was sexy!!
Facebook doesn’t say who is doing the work- can’t imagine that he is doing to himself- actually dont WANT to imagine it – that would be trully creepy.
@Mee – There’s definitely something (beyond just the fact that he’s getting a true full body piece done) that makes you look twice at him! I find his art super fascinating and intriguing; it’s very detailed and looks to be of quite good quality. I’ve got a sleeve on one arm and a bunch of other tattoos, but am impressed with massive pieces like this. I don’t want to think of how many hours and sittings this required, though – 10h for a sleeve was enough for a while for me! 😉
@glowworm2k
Couldn’t agree with you more. He’s a fascinating individual!
Even though it’s definitely extreme I don’t find him creepy at all. It’s not for everyone obviously, but I think it works for him.
Very unique definately.
CREEPY!!!
At least Lady GaGa can wash off the makeup and change into more conventional clothes if she chooses.
Fun for Halloween/a video/party/whatever, but in everyday life that is just too scary.
I guess he wasn’t thinking about being a dad… I think this is sadly limiting his life.
I’m with Mee-I think he looks amazing. And I’m about a white bread as you can get.
And you put him here because….?
His skelatal facial tattoo reminds me of a balaclava a charcter [ghost] wears int he game modern warfare 2.
but anywho.. I dunno… I find the skelatal look creepy in general… If I came across him in real life I`d probably be amazed but still a little freaked out.
The tattoos do make him unique.. to each their own =)
What do tattoos have to do with having a kid. If the kid sees you looking like that from day 1 the kid will not be scared. Also not everyone wants to be a mom or dad.
It’s definitely an extreme look that hopefully had a lot of thought put in before making things permanent, i.e. tattoos, especially FACIAL ONES!
Good for him though if it got him noticed while he was just being himself!
Again, not sure if he’ll regret it later on in life.
Why make yourself an outcast,that will frighten many.I wouldn’t want the attention,myself…
HMMMMMMMMMMM… my son would love it!!! my daughter… not so much. LOL
I think hes beautiful! <3 but then again i have tats all over. and old people dont necessarily look bad with tattoos, its just how you maintain you body.
Wow… looks incredible. But can’t imagine having something like that with me all my life. It’s like fashion… what if you get tired of it? Can’t easily remove it.
I dont think its the fact that old people look bad with a few tatts, its the whole body issue. Unfortunately when you get old it doesn’t matter how you maintain your body. Gravity happens, wrinkles etc.
It’s amazing how many people on his Facebook page think hes absolutely sexy.
Apparently personality wise hes a super nice guy.
Was he homeless because of the thousands upon thousands of dollars his tatts cost?
For me, it’s extreme, but to each his own. As the saying goes, “it’s what’s inside that counts”. I’m sure he has asked himself all the questions you are all asking. There are many people out there that make others to look twice, for whatever reason, but when did looks ever really matters. When he is eighty, maybe people will actually find him cool instead of just a bag of ugly wrinkles, like many of us will be 🙂 It will be sad though if he is only doing it for the 15 mintues of fame, or if he will regret it later on in life. Remember the guy who tatted his whole body to look like a leopard and even sharpened his teeth to complete the look, where is he now?
I remember seeing him back in my bar hopping days. He was a squeegee punk and collected spare change for washing your windshield with puddle water and piss. I say good for him – he’s come a long way…
I wonder what his parents think?
I love it!
I wonder if he will want to see himself without the tattoo one day. But there’s probably make-up for that.
I love it!
Im all for it! 🙂
I think he looks amazing…truly a skilled artist (whomever did the work). Looks AMAZING.
And as a person with large tattoos, I can say, the face would be SO painful…I cannot even imagine how strong he would need to be to complete all of that! WOW!
Oh yeah…he is totally sexy lol.
If he’s happy with himself then why not?
Personally, i think he’s like a piece of art 🙂
creepy!!!
I’m not so much at odds with a person covering themselves with tattoos. It’s the subject of the tattoos he has covered himself with that bothers me. He’s a walking advertisement for death and decay. To me that seems like a sad way to live.
His body; his choice.
I have known about Zombie Boy and his tattoo project, funny enough through a website called Ugliest Tattoo, but do not find it that disturbing. I, personally, would not tattoo my whole body in a skeletal pattern but I like it. I do not think he is trying to look depressing or attract everyone’s attention, it’s just what he feels comfortable with having- even if it starts to sag with age, he will be an even greater looking zombie.
Wow, how can you get a job with a full face tattoo? Try to picture the interviewer when he walks in a meeting… Cool for him but not really pratical!
I wouldn’t do it. Can’t understand others who do. Dude has to live with it. Hope he doesn’t mind all the attention he’s inviting for the next 70 years. Never heard of Mugler either. Sigh. So out of the loop 🙂
As for how it looks, I think it’s very unique and I think he actually looks attractive (then again, my husband and I are big zombie fans lol). I’m not sure of the practicality though – yes, he was able to get into modeling and hopefully he will make some good money with that, but if that doesn’t pan out…I’m not sure how many jobs are available for someone who looks like a zombie…other then that, I say good for him.
I think it’s sad – yes the tats look amazing, but this guy is only in his 20s (he’s still a kid in a lot of respects) – how will he feel about this choice 10 or 20 years from now?
Meh… to each their own. Good on him if he likes it.
I absolutely love this guy. I’ve seen him on the runway, and in the GaGa video. His work is unbelievably good. Whoever his artist is deserves an award. It’s so realistic and not harsh like some tattoos can be. I can’t wait until his whole body is finished so we can see the final result!
That is mental illness gone unchecked. Clearly some therapy is in order.
Well somebody’s gotta do it. I would never get a tattoo myself, but I think his tattoos are gorgeous. Yes, the subject matter is dark, but that doesn’t exclude them from being beautiful. Really the tattoo artist deserves praise, because there are more bad tattoos out there masquerading as ‘body art’ than good ones.
I really hope he doesn’t regret it in the future though. But I’m sure 20 years from now there’s going to be technology that make easier and better tattoo removal. Maybe he’ll take the ones off his face if one day his kids’ friends don’t wanna come over to the house…lol
And Thierry Mulger is/was a well known designer, I think. His designs remind me of old sci-fi book covers. Also he has a really lovely perfume in a blue star bottle called “angel”. I really like it. It’s sweet smelling, so some people might not like it, but I do.
Creepy….what the heck are these tattoos going to look like when he’s 80?? Yuck!!!
I think he looks amazing. To all those saying “he’ll regret it when he’s older”, do you honestly think he woke up one day and did all this on a whim?