ZOMBIES FOR HIRE
The zombie rental service that went from promotional stunt to business, real fast.
THE ORIGIN
ZomBFX didn’t begin as a business.
It started as part of a theatre production—specifically, a zombie play.
Through that process, I worked with a group of actors performing as zombies, along with a makeup artist capable of creating highly realistic effects.
To promote the show, I decided to take the concept outside.
We transformed two actors and sent them into downtown Toronto... No stage. No announcement.
Just zombies moving through the city.
THE EXPERIMENT
The goal was simple: get attention.
The result was immediate.
People stopped. Filmed. Took photos. Shared it.
The zombies didn’t perform... they existed in the space.
That distinction mattered.
It turned a promotion into something closer to an experience.
THE SHIFT
The footage from that activation turned into a promotional video.
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And that video reached someone it wasn’t originally intended for.
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A corporate office in Toronto got in touch.
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They wanted something unexpected for their Halloween event.
Something people wouldn’t forget.
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So I said yes—
and figured out the rest after.
THE EXPERIENCE
The approach was intentionally simple.
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No stage. No announcement.
Just insertion.
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Employees went about their day as usual—until zombies started appearing throughout the office.
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Moving between desks.
Lingering in hallways.
Making eye contact a little too long.
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At first: confusion.
Then: surprise.
Then: laughter.
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It worked exactly as intended.
THE REALIZATION
At that point, it stopped being just a one-off idea.
The pieces were already there:
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Actors
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Makeup capability
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Costuming
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A repeatable experience
The only thing missing was structure.
This wasn’t “rent a costume” service...
It was a packaged experience.
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Placed inside real environments.
Designed to provoke reaction.
Not a performance...
An interruption of normalcy.
WHY IT DIDN’T SCALE?
Despite early success, the business didn’t expand.
Timing, scheduling, and the seasonal nature of the idea made it difficult to sustain, though I had ideas to expand the business into a functional year round service.
It had demand.
Just not the infrastructure to keep up with it at the time.
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It was the "unplanned" business that just couldn't be.
ZomBFX was a simple idea, executed properly.
It proved that even something unconventional—something slightly ridiculous—can become a real, functioning business with the right structure behind it.
And sometimes, that’s all a business needs.