Attitude meets Lady Gaga’s favourite Zombie Boy ahead of Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights
By Will Stroude
Commuters all over London were given the fright of their lives (until they find out what’s next) this week when it appeared that the Day of Reckoning was finally upon us all, as zombies were seen crawling the streets and using the Underground to navigate their way around the city… Wait, what?
Luckily for us all, this elaborate stunt which confused and instilled fear into sleepy commuters revealed itself not as the apocalypse, but the genius work of Thorpe Park in collaboration with one-of-a-kind actor, singer and model Zombie Boy (aka Rick Genest).
Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of their legendary ghoulish ‘Fright Nights’ extravaganza, the human walking corpse to took to the streets to promote the Park’s newest and scariest horror maze to date. Thirty live actors, all modelled after Zombie Boy’s own unique look, are prepared to terrify and thrill you in the Park’s Woodlands through fog as you dodge explosions and stumble into séances. Guests will be hunted and chased, pushing their fears to the limit.
We caught up with Zombie Boy over some brains (kidding), to discuss all things horror, terror and Thorpe Park, whilst delving into his enviable career in entertainment and finding out what the tarot cards of the future hold for the Lord of the Underworld.
Warning: strange and scary figures witnessed in the heart of London, last seen chanting ‘Fright Nights 15’ and heading towards the city’s Thorpe Park Fright Nights Festival.
So we’ve seen that you’ve had quite a busy week. Your Instagram story showed you gallivanting around Thorpe Park? What was that for?
Well, Thorpe Park has been gracious enough to invite me here for their fifteenth anniversary for fright nights, opening October 7th for the Halloween season premiering their new Scare Maze ‘Platform 15’. It’s in the woods in the dark, so if you don’t like people running after you in the woods, I wouldn’t suggest it! if you’re a thrill junkie then definitely! It’s PG 13 so anyone under the age of 13 is advised not to take part. We had lots of fun, their actors are really good, I walked through the mazes and some of them really scared me! Some of the guys really have the moves, they’re really into it, they have fantastic techniques!
What kind of things are we expecting to see there? Ghouls, ghosts, everything?
The whole thing this year is fifteen years of fright in one night… Thats a lot of fright. For everyone, just in case you need it, they also have a boutique where you can buy underwear! There’s a train that actually explodes! The experience starts outside and you have actors throughout the whole thing, at one point you go into a pitch black tunnel with various things jumping out at you!
You genuinely think you are in the scary woods. The rollercoasters are super dope, we were on the Samurai, and the Saw ride. It brings you all the way up, it was a straight drop, horizontally all the way up and all the way down. It was freaking amazing! Yeah, I had the whole experience.
Your rise to fame in the last few years must have been quite a wild ride for yourself too? You’ve modelled all across the world, you’ve been in GQ, Vanity Fair… What was your experience in the fashion industry?
Being surrounded by artists, there’s a lot of creative people out there. Lots of talented people, designers, lots of production, lots of creative people and that’s a blessing to be surrounded by.
Legend says the Sleeper Express is haunted by the ghosts of it’s past; will you be able to complete a journey, or be lost forever with the souls of the damned?
What’s one notable place that has really stood out for you in recent years?
I really enjoyed China. I never thought in my wildest dreams of ever going to China. I’ve now been there five times, I’m going for my sixth time on that side of the world. I’m from Montreal, Canada, so I never even thought that I could ever go to China, but now t’s like ‘holy f**k I’m in China dawg’!
A lot of people obviously think the ‘Born This Way’ video was your introduction to the mainstream, but it was actually the Mügler show that preceded this wasn’t it? What was it like working with such a creative individual as Lady Gaga?
She was really sympathetic. I showed up on site for the first time ever and she screams ‘Rico’ and threw her arms open, gave me a big hug. And I’m not, like, a huggy guy. She was happy outgoing, loud, brave I guess – ’cause whenever she walks into a room all eyes are on her, and that takes a lot of courage.
What was it like being in a music video? I know you’ve appeared in a few, is it something that you enjoy?
I do. Especially my next one because we’re working on our next music project. So we recorded, we worked on 21 tracks, 16 original tracks, we have our first show coming up in Germany, October 15th. After this we’ve got one more rehearsal with the band then we’re on the way to Germany. I hope we’re ready! Soon we’re going to be launching our first single ‘Monster Inside’, its going to be our first number one on charts worldwide hit worldwide number one on all the charts, ‘Monster Inside’, Zombie Boy.
How long have you been working on this project then?
Two years, proper. This comes from the heart.
Commuters flooded 999 and radio stations with reports of strange and disturbing figures seen in the city. Posing no threat, these creatures seemed more involved with reaching their destination than feasting on the flesh around them. [This may or may not be accurate, our reporter went offline mid-broadcast and hasn’t been heard from since]
That’s so nice to hear, in the 21st Century a lot of the music industry is a machine, its wonderful to hear that you’re putting such a creative and individual element to it. Something that is yours and you’re proud of your legacy.
Yeah, my own lyricist my guitarist, we’ve been cooking up in the studio, my guitarist is Riggs, formerly from Rob Zombie, so we’ve been working on whatever it takes, writing our own music. I was always into creative writing, all my life since high school. Now I’ve got a chance to use my experiences… we can turn them into songs.
So I saw online that you hold guinness world records. You’ve got the one for the most bugs on a human body which then was 138. What is the other Guinness world record?
Most bones. Now this, I know it sounds bogus, but this is what they did, or at least what they told me at least. They had a doctor come on to Guinness worlds to count my bones. A PHD doctor, one that went to University to become a doctor to count my tattoos? You know these aren’t real bones? The whole time he’s like marking them off with his marker I’m thinking, why do you need a doctor to count my tattoos, like doesn’t he have more things to do like healing people instead of counting tattoos?
So with all the opportunities that you’ve had so far, with your tattoos, with your personality, every experience has been an optimal opportunity to develop your brand and establish yourself in the public eye. Your visual image has been appealing to a lot of people resulting in achievements such as the Dermablend ‘Go Beyond The Cover’ campaign and becoming the first ever male spokesperson for L’Oreal. Would you ever partner up with companies in the future, have you got any things you’d like to do?
Doc Martins, that would be cool, Barbie. I already had a doll by Tonner Dolls, people would be like ‘Oh I saw your action figure and I’d be like it’s not an action figure its a barbie!’ They only sold 400 which sold out instantly.
What influenced the choices of tattoos on your body?
I guess the expression is wear your heart on your sleeve. Be yourself because if you don’t, nobody else is going to be, right?
Mimicking real-life, these creatures tried to blend in with society; the wise weren’t fooled, however.
You used to perform as an illustrated man pre-fame, you actually had your own show too…
We had a couple of shows but thats all we were able to do back then. It was the ‘Lucifers’ Blasphemous Mad Macabre Torture Carnage Carnival’. I’ve moved on, I’m doing music now, it was really inspiring, a lot of those cats and dogs have moved on now.
A lot of your work has been inspiring… would you like to be called a role model?
A role model is a big word. I’m very outgoing, I don’t think that’s a place for children, I’m more of an adult entertainer because I use lots of nasty expressions, I don’t think children should ever come to my shows, but as far as expressing yourself and being true to who you are… own your ground. Maybe thats a role model thing. Be the boss and don’t let people push you around.
Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2016 will run on the following dates from 10am – 10 pm 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 21st – 31st Oct inclusive and is rated PG 13. More information and tickets available at thorpepark.com.
Keep up to date with Zombie Boy’s antics at his official website rickgenest.com as well as following him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.