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Rick Genest Alias Zombie Boy Dead At 32 (And What I’ve Realized About Myself)

Rest In Peace

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Zombie Boy Kinda-Sorta Changed My Life In A Weird Way

Rick Genest alias ”Zombie Boy” was the walking example of that old saying that says : ”Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover”. Yet the news of him passing away today had me caught up with mixed feelings and here’s why.

Read More: 5 Montreal Podcasts To Help You Hustle & Flow Through The Week

When I was a teenager something weird happened to me (I’m actually going somewhere with this). I was taking the subway to Longueuil and I’ve bumped into something I never thought I would: A man tatted 95% of his body with skulls and bugs.

Yes I was face to face with Rick Genest for about 3 stations up to my destination. I didn’t know what to do or say. He was calm, serene and didn’t mind the strange expression of curiosity on my face.

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I guess he was used to it. I guess he was used to have people looking at him funny. People quick to judge, quick to label him and that specific afternoon, I was one of those people.

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Cc: via zszywka.pl

Little did I know that afternoon, Rick was dealing was his fair share of challenges. Rick was an artist that used his body as a canvas. Rick was a model to be, Rick was a son, most of all Rick was a human being.

Fast forward after our encounter,  something even more disturbing happened. I happened to stumble upon the now famous Lady Gaga videoclip ”Born This Way” which featured Zombie Boy.

I remember looking at the video saying: ”I’ve Seen This Guy Before!”. I did my research and later found out that the ”the tatted guy in Born This Way” was actually from Montreal.

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It only donged on me that he was the guy that I’ve seen in that subway in Longueuil when I’ve watched him in an interview.  I was so fascinated by the guy. About what he had to say, his experience as an homeless man and overall perspective on things.

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I felt guilty about my sudden interest to him. I felt like a fraud too. Did I gave him validation because of his new found status? Was he very different than the first time we’ve met?

Those are things I will never know. When I think back to this afternoon in the subway; all I had in mind was discomfort. I’ve treated him as a misfit without trying to create a dialog.

This, my friends, is what society is about. We judge, we don’t want to engage nor understand the less fortunate. We acknowledge outsiders only when they quote unquote ”made it”.

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Yet, we’re hypocrites and meanwhile those issues are very real. His suicide touched me because it reminded how hypocrite I once was. Rick to me could’ve been the best spokesperson for those issues.

Everybody needs a voice and we’ve just lost one of the loudest….

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This Year Malefycia Is Colliding Horror And The Bible To Make The Thrill Of Halloween Real Again

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Malefycia Is Restoring The Feeling, One Spooky Scream At A Time

Long are the days when I was cruising down the streets on October 31st either looking for candies to devour for 3 weeks straight or even as an adult looking for a popping club where I could tell people ”My costume is ME tonight”.

The truth is, I think Malefycia restored something that I thought was buried inside me. They reminded me that not only I liked Halloween but I just couldn’t find an alternative in my adult life to spark my curiosity on one side and get the thrill going on the other.

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Malefycia been around for a minute but this year they’re trying something different…I mean different.

You’re familiar with the 7 sins in the bible don’t you? You’re aware of what a haunted house is supposed to be don’t you? Well, something in their team had the genius and actually vicious idea to combine these two things who might have nothing to with each other on the outside looking in but in this new adventure/haunted house experience; it all make sense!

their show called V7CE is cross theatre performance, cross the most scary thing you’ve ever seen. The show includes different scenes and interactive plays putting on the forefront the 7 sins from the bible.

What always stand out to me when it comes to Malefycia, is there raw and authentic attention to details.

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Do yourself a favor and come immerse yourself in this universe and your inner child and your thrill-seeking inner adult have some fun.

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Myraï Lavoie Is Taking The Fashion World By Storm With The Glitch Fashion Show

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Myraï Lavoie Is Creating Her Own Universe And You’re Invited

What I appreciate the most about my work is the fact that I get to meet great minds & humans with a powerful story and this time around, I got to cross path with the talented Myraï Lavoie.

Read More: Tawhida Tanya Evanson: When Words Can Really Give You Wings

The city has been quiet fashion wise over the years and as platform that mostly talked about fashion in its inception, we’ve felt it the most over here.

There would be sparks of hope here and there but besides Festival De Mode & Design, not a lot of things really stood out.

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When I heard about ”The Glitch” it’s like I knew what it was about without nothing what it was about.

I mean good branding is good branding but it was more so who’s behind the good branding this time around. I had the chance to work with Myraï Lavoie in the past and one thing I can is : there’s a method to her madness.

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Every artist has an eye and that eye is shaped by our views of the world and life experiences. Myraï had an interesting life.

One where being different is actually the move. One where if you don’t fit somewhere, you don’t try to get in the mold, you bend it.

For all the lack of support or misunderstand she got in Montreal, she found a place to be creative working or being in room with the likes of Paris Hilton & P. Diddy to name a few.

What she’s learned from coming out of her shell and experiencing the world she’s about the share it with us with her own fashion called ”The Glitch” tonight.

”The Glitch” is exactly what I thought it was going to be. A standout experience and experience and something you’ve never seen before just like its creator.

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The 50th Anniversary Of Les Grands Explorateurs Presents A Touching Documentary Exploring Africa And Its Wonders

An Amazing Story by Amazing Creators!

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Les Grands Explorateurs Is Celebrating Africa In A Real Way!

Curiosity has to be the most incredible human quality there is and Les Grands Explorateurs has been putting it on the forefront for the past 50 years!

Read More: Isabelle Mugwaneza Desmarais: An Unlikely Journey For An Unlikely Unique Success Story

We are now entering an era where we want to know more about what is going on on the other side of the world.

How people are living, their culture and what is their reality compared to ours.

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Sometimes the depiction of such reality is either unfair or made to look down at somebody. Other times, filmmakers have the challenge to depict a reality in a way to uplift what other cultures are bringing to the table.

Milan Bihlmann and Muammer Yilmaz are two filmmakers who know where they stand when it comes to that.

Rêves D’Afrique” is the epidemy of that. The two filmmakers decided to go to 7 countries in Africa to not only paint the picture for the world but to give the good people out there something we forget to give one another : ”a piece of yourself’.

Armed with a backpack, film gear and true altruism, the duo spread love and good deeds wherever they could throughout their trip.

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Watch The Trailer

Les Grands Explorateurs being this platform to uncover the world made the right choice by adding this beautiful piece to their program.

Up until November 1st, you still have the chance to see the beautiful piece in theater and then online starting November 2nd.

Tickets Here

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