Genest grew up in Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal. According to his mother he waited, out of respect for her and his father, until the age of 16 to get his first tattoo. He then left home at 17 after graduating from high school, but it was not until the age of 21 that he would first come to Montreal tattoo artist Frank Lewis, since then responsible for inking the majority the designs on his body, which they create together. This has taken over three years, Genest spending thousands of dollars on the artwork, conceived by him to be “about the human body as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver.”, and “also a tribute to horror movies”, a favourite genre of his. He would become popular in Montreal’s “underground scene”, but struggled for money and eventually found himself homeless.
On March 5, 2010, A Facebook fan page was created about Rick’s unusual choice of tattoos. This page reached 1,516,145 members (as of May 11, 2011) and ultimately led to his discovery by Lady Gaga’s Fashion Director Nicola Formichetti.
On January 19, 2011, Rick was featured in the new MUGLER Autumn/Winter mens collection, headlining the collection on the brand’s website, after his discovery by Creative Director Nicola Formichetti. In fact it was Genest’s discovery by Formichetti and then Gaga’s urging which actually resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned. His discovery also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself. The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco. He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women’s 2011 Autumn/Winter line.
On February 27, 2011, Rick was featured in Lady Gaga’s video for “Born This Way”, with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest’s tattoos.
On January 19, 2011, Rick was featured in the new MUGLER Autumn/Winter mens collection, headlining the collection on the brand’s website, after his discovery by Creative Director Nicola Formichetti. In fact it was Genest’s discovery by Formichetti and then Gaga’s urging which actually resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned. His discovery also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself. The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco. He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women’s 2011 Autumn/Winter line.
On February 27, 2011, Rick was featured in Lady Gaga’s video for “Born This Way”, with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest’s tattoos.
