Sebastian Horsley

Sebastian Horsley

Self-admitted cocaine addict, prostitute patronizer and artist/writer Sebastian Horsley is best known for undergoing voluntary crucifixion in the Philippines. This wasn’t even a punishment — it was all research for a series of paintings he was doing on the subject. He also spent most of his life engaging in such crazy high risk behaviors as diving into shark-infested waters and taking potentially lethal amounts of drugs. Unfortunately, one of these bouts of intoxication did turn out to be fatal, and he was found in his home, having overdosed on heroin and cocaine, in June 2010. Despite his reckless behavior and occasional romanticization of death, his close friends and relatives were convinced his overdose was an accident. The journalist Toby Young said: “If it had been suicide Sebastian would not have passed up the opportunity to write a note. It’s a tragic loss of life.”