It takes a pretty unusual person to make Lady Gaga look downright conservative.
But the current darling of the fashion and music world, Rick Genest, aka Zombie Boy, has done just that.
The Montreal-native burst on to the scene after Gaga's stylist Nicole Formichetti discovered the tattooed model on Facebook, where he has over 20,000 fans.
Copycat: Gaga appears alongside 'Zombie Boy' Rick Genest in her new music video Born This Way
Formichetti, the new Creative Director for designer Thierry Mugler, quickly snapped Genest up as his muse.
He appears alongside Gaga in the video for her new single Born this Way, and for once, the singer is the style follower, copying his skeletal body art with make-up.
He also starred in Formichetti's debut runway show for the fashion house last week in Paris.
'Freak show': Genest says he considers himself 'a sexual performer'
Fashion world darling: The Montreal-native is muse to Gaga's stylist Nicola Formichetti after the designer discovered him on Facebook
His rise from obscurity to fame has been sudden, and he appears as surprised as anyone else.
Backstage at the Theirry Mugler show at Paris Fashion Week, he told New York fashion bible WWD, 'I’m super privileged.'
He describes himself as a 'sexual performer,' and says, not surprisingly: 'I like the whole freak-show atmosphere,' saying his antics include the usual beds of nails.
And Rick has also proved a hit with the ladies, with scores of Fashion Week attendees lining up to have their picture taken with the tattooed wonder.
Muse: Genest walked alongside Lady Gaga at Formichetti's debut catwalk show for Thierry Mugler last week
The soft-spoken model told Grazia this week: 'When I was a kid I fell in love with zombies and wanted to become one.
'The closest thing I could get to becoming a zombie was to get tattooed like one.'
He adds: 'I'm so used to them now that I don't see them anymore.'
