Fil-Am model finishes 4th in Manhunt Int'l contest

It's time for Filipino men to shine in pageants abroad.

Filipino-American model Jeff Langan won 3rd runner-up at Manhunt International 2018 contest during a competition held in Gold Coast, Australia last Sunday, Dec. 2.

Vicent Llorach of Spain edged out 32 other candidates for the prestigious modelling title. Other winners were Australia, 1st runner-up; Netherlands, 2nd runner-up; and Vietnam, 4th runner-up.

Started in 1988 by Alex Liu in Singapore, Manhunt International is the world's most recognized and longest-running international male model competition.

Langan, 25, started modelling when he was still a child. "My mom got me started on my first commercial for Long Beach Memorial Hospital when I was a baby,” says Langan, in an interview for Fashionably Male photoblog recently.

Later, the 6’1” tall model took a break when his family moved to Las Vegas, where he graduated high school.

When he turned 18, Langan returned to Los Angeles and has since stuck with modeling. He’s been taking acting classes recently and hopes to book a TV series or motion picture.

In the Philippines, Langan was trained under beauty queen maker Jonas Gaffud of the Aces and Queens beauty camp.

Langan says traveling to Thailand for three months, and then spending three additional months working in the Philippines have been the highlight of his modelling career. “It was so surreal to leave the country and go somewhere not knowing how things worked nor anyone there. It was basically a fresh start but I loved every moment of it.”

The model says that the best thing about modeling is the chance to meet new people. But he says that the worst thing about the job is dealing with the stress of traffic in LA on the way to castings.

Langan enjoys going to the beach and surfing in Southern California, and hiking and breathe in the fresh air. He also loves going to the gym and cooking.

It was on Nov. 9, 2012 that history was made after June Macasaet became the first Filipino to win the Manhunt International. This title eluded the Philippines many times and Macasaet bested contestants from 53 countries to finally capture the title in Thailand. - ROBERT R. REQUINTINA