The Zombie and The Cosmetic Contract

image: Dermablend / L'Oreal

Article by BR Natalie

Before you start reading this article, do us a favour and check out this amazing video on our YouTube channel.  Why?  Because trust us - it's an amazing video, but even more amazing when you don't know what's coming!

When this video hit BR HQ we huddled around my laptop and were astounded.  We replayed.  We paused.  We needed to know more.  Not just about this seemingly amazing product - but by the star of the video - Rick Genest, now known as Zombie Boy.  Rico the Zombie is a living skeleton.

Before he began his tattoo journey, Montreal born Rick Genest was diagnosed with a brain tumour, but the surgery and recovery were without complications.  Certainly being forced to consider life and death at a young age impacted the direction he chose to take his life.  He left home one day and decided to live downtown, actively choosing to live and sleep on rooftops, dumpsters and under bridges.

At age 19 he had committed to covering his whole body in to a living skeleton, a six year metamorphosis in to Rico the Zombie.  Montreal tattooist Frank Lewis is responsible for inking Rico and bringing his visions, including an entire skeleton and images of the body decomposing to life.  For the very reasonable price of $20000.

Rico performed in modern day freak-shows and even created his own - Lucifer’s Blasphemous Mad Macabre Torture Carnival, which he also directs.  He established a loyal social media following that resulted in bringing him to the attention of Lady Gaga's stylist and creative director of Mugler, Nicola Formichetti. By 2011 Rico was the face of Thierry Mugler's fall campaign and was being invited for magazine and photoshoots around the world.

image: Mugler/Nicola Formichetti

Nicola Formichetti also secured him a cameo in Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way video - the official video on You Tube has been viewed over 134 million times!

image:Haus of Gaga

Which brings us to the amazing video we opened with.  Zombie Boy became L'Oreal's first male spokesperson when he was contracted to promote Dermablend - the professional concealer and skin camouflaging brand.  The 'Go Beyond The Cover' campaign opens with the question 'how do you judge a book' and an attractive male.  As the male begins to vigourously rub his chest tattoos are revealed until we're faced with Zombie boy in all of his tattooed glory

The campaign is brilliant on so many levels - we're always hearing of actors under going hours of makeup to create fake tattoos, the opposite of this process is equally fascinating.  And what did the man himself have to say about the transformation?  'It looks the same to me, I guess I'm just used to being in my own skin.'he tells us in the behind the scenes clip.

image: Dermablend / L'Oreal

So what's next for the freak-show performer turned model?  He's a regular in magazines and campaigns and has even had a cameo in a Keanu Reeve's film.  But the fame isn't going to his head - with apparently no interest in material wealth, his biggest extravagance would be to build a place on a nice spot of land so that he can give his friends from the punk rock community of Montreal “a place to live.”  Zombie or sweetheart?!

Are you as intrigued with Zombie Boy as we've become?  Do you agree that it's fantastic to see the cosmetic, fashion and beauty industry embracing more 'alternative' looks?

Get chatting below!