Ian Leonel Porlayagan is a 23-year old model from San Jose, Nueva Ecija who first came into nationwide consciousness by joining his first national pageant, the BPCI organized Mr. World – Philippines 2007. Although not a stranger to male personality searches (he has joined Manhunt Search, Mr. Aura and Ginoong Nueva Ecija prior to his stint at Mr. World – Philippines) and an early pageant standout, he wasn’t able to bag top honors nor land in the top ten spots at the BPCI-organized male pageant.

A few months later, Ian joined Mr. Philippines 2007. There, he won one of the top prizes – Mr. Philippines-International 2007 – the most prestigious award given in the pageant. His account of his life as a farmer back in his native Nueva Ecija captured the hearts of the judges and won him the crown. However, a fiasco involving the organizers of the competition prevented him from representing the country in the Mister International competition held in Mexico City that year.

Early this year, he was one of the lucky few who were chosen to compete in the Philippines’ most prestigious modeling tilt, Bodyshots. However, competition was really stiff and he failed to land in the top five. Nevertheless, his experience in the model search helped him get more recognition. It brought him closer to realizing his dream of getting into mainstream modeling.

A few weeks ago, Ian joined Mister International – Philippines 2008 in his attempt to reclaim the opportunity to represent the country in an international competition that he was unjustly deprived of. However, his efforts were only able to get him up to the top six.

These personality searches opened a lot of doors for Ian. He appeared in fashion shows, television shows and commercials after these. He even appeared in Cosmopolitan Bachelor Bash two years in a row. At present, Ian is busy doing casting calls and go-sees for fashion shows. He is just a few strides away from reaching his dream of becoming a popular model.