Zombie Boy Was Excited About Future Projects Before Apparent Suicide, Says Manager

Zombie Boy's death by apparent suicide came as a complete shock to those close to him, because he was very excited about things to come ... so says his manager.

Karim Leduc tells TMZ ... Zombie Boy -- real name Rick Genest, but known as Rico to friends and family -- was very focused on a couple of upcoming projects and had a "very positive mindset." Karim says these projects included shooting a music vid for his single called "Monster Inside" ... and working on a book of his poems.

Leduc says Rico was especially stoked about the music vid, so it makes no sense he would end his life before it got made.

Zombie Boy's manager also says he wasn't a drug user and was sober at the time of his death. There is this though -- Karim tells us Rico did mention to him recently he was going through a rough patch, but was "uplifted" by all the future projects.

Leduc insists he didn't think twice about Rico's comments, and doesn't believe it was a suicide warning sign.