Markkus Ethan Has His Eyes on the Next Win

• At 22, Filipino model Markkus Ethan is balancing a double degree with his modeling career after becoming one of five winners of the VMAN Southeast Asia Model Search 2026.

He’s just getting started

At 22, Filipino model Markkus Ethan is juggling a double degree, a fitness routine, and a budding modeling career. Most people would struggle to fit all three into a week.

Meanwhile, he has just added a VMAN Southeast Asia Model Search 2026 win to his CV. One of five winners, he’s making a case for doing the most with one’s twenties, preferably without letting the coursework pile up.

Markkus’ entry into modeling was hardly the result of a plotted career strategy. A photographer friend suggested he give it a go, and initially hesitant, he decided to take the advice.

He hadn’t planned on becoming a model, but he’s always believed that stepping outside one’s comfort zone is part of growing up. Once he started, he approached it as he would any other pursuit: with the intention of doing it properly.

Between university deadlines and shoots, Markkus is learning to navigate two worlds that demand different things from him. One requires him to get his head down and study; the other asks him to step in front of a camera and make it look as though he’s never had a difficult thought in his life. Both, as it turns out, require preparation.

The double life

For Markkus, modeling hasn’t so much changed who he is as given him more room to develop. He describes himself as increasingly persistent and driven, with ambitions that continue to evolve as he discovers what he can achieve.

His education remains a priority, but so does the possibility of taking his modeling career further. There’s no dramatic either-or here. He wants to succeed at both, which is an admirably uncomplicated answer to a complicated scheduling problem.

Outside the industry, he says, not much has changed. His friends and classmates acknowledge his modeling work, but he remains the same person they knew before the opportunities started coming in.

Markkus is ambitious about what he does, but he’s not treating modeling as a reason to reinvent himself overnight. He’s still a student, still working things out, and still interested in where both paths might lead.

Built on discipline

Then there’s the physique, which, one suspects, doesn’t maintain itself between lectures. His fitness routine combines weight training with a little cardio, providing structure to his days while supporting both his physical and mental well-being.

The secret, if there is one, is consistency. Markkus knows that motivation has its limits, particularly when schoolwork, shoots, and other commitments are all demanding attention at once. Eventually, discipline means doing something even when the last thing you fancy is doing it.

The same principle applies to the industry’s expectations around appearance. Modeling inevitably invites comparison, and there will always be someone with a different physique or a different idea of what a model ought to be. Markkus’ solution is to keep his attention on himself.

Markkus accepts that he can’t meet everyone’s expectations, so he concentrates on improving without allowing other people’s judgments to determine how he feels about himself.

Camera confidence, still in progress

For all the polish required of a fashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary photograph, becoming comfortable in front of the camera is a skill in its own right. His first shoots weren’t exactly effortless affairs. He remembers being extremely stiff, having to build his confidence gradually as he gained experience.

Practice made the difference. With each shoot, he became more comfortable with the process, learning how to carry himself and allowing his movements to feel more natural.

Confidence remains one of the things he’s working hardest to develop. Posing and runway technique all matter, but Markkus believes they become easier once a model understands how to carry himself.

Individuality matters just as much. He sees personal branding as a way to give people something distinctive to remember, rather than simply trying to replicate another model’s success. Looking the part may get you into the room, but knowing what makes you different gives people a reason to remember you after you’ve left.

He’s equally realistic about rejection. Not every casting will lead to a booking, and not every project will go according to plan. Markkus considers these setbacks part of the process, experiences that build character and give eventual success its value. Disappointment is inevitable, but he doesn’t intend to let it become an excuse to stop.

“I do my best and I let it go,” he says.

Plenty wins more to come

Markkus’ place among the five winners of the VMAN Southeast Asia Model Search 2026 marks a significant step in his career. His VMAN SEA cover is an opportunity he meets with gratitude, but he isn’t interested in treating it as the grand finale.

Asked what he hopes to achieve next, he keeps things wonderfully direct:

The ambition’s broad enough to cover projects, runways, and whatever opportunities come his way. Just as importantly, he wants to prosper in his education, too. There are degrees to finish and a modeling career to develop, and he intends to give both his best shot.

For now, he’s studying for two degrees and building a career in fashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary. If the plan sounds demanding, it is. But Markkus has already made one thing clear: he didn’t enter modeling simply to give it a go. He came to win, and he would quite like to keep doing so.

Chief of Editorial Content Patrick Ty

Photography Andrea Beldua

Art direction Mike Miguel

FashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary Corven Uy

FashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary editor Rex Atienza

GroomingGroomingThe care and maintenance of hair, skin, beard, and nails, including cleansing, shaving, styling, and scent. Once niche, men's grooming has grown into a major lifestyle category, and VMAN's VanityGo to Grooming Glossary and hair Myckee Arcano

Production design Arj Madarang

Production Francis Vicente

Dayne Aduna

Associate Editor

Dayne Aduna is an Associate Editor at VMAN Southeast Asia, specializing in fashion, grooming, film, television, and contemporary pop culture. With a strong editorial focus on menswear, his work explores how style intersects with shifting cultural movements across Southeast Asia and beyond.

His expertise spans fashion journalism, celebrity profiling, grooming and skincare trends, fragrance, runway reporting, and cultural commentary, with a particular eye for emerging creatives and youth-driven style.

Dayne has written extensively on fashion houses, seasonal trends, designer collections, and the evolving image of the modern Southeast Asian man, bringing both editorial depth and cultural relevance to his coverage.

See more stories by Dayne Aduna