Manhunt: The Search For America's Most Gorgeous Male Model is an American reality television series broadcast by Bravo. The series premiered on October 11, 2004, while its eighth and final episode aired on November 30, 2004. Filmed in Los Angeles, California, the series depicted a competition among thirty men were required to travel around the United States and compete against one another in a variety of challenges. American model Carmen Electra hosted the series.
Guest judges include former male supermodel Bruce Hulse, model Marisa Miller, former model and photographer director Kimberly Metz, and Stuff magazine editor Courtney Kendall. Jon Jonsson won the competition, receiving a four-year contract with IMG Models worth $100,000.
Season summary Season Premiere date WinnerRunner-up Other contestants in order of eliminationNumber of contestantsInternational destination(s) 1Jon JonssonRob Williams Brian Bernie & Casey Ward & Micah LaCerte & Sean Russell, Blake Peyrot & Brett Dupue & Casey Weeks & John Stallings, Ron Brown & Seth Whalen, Jason Pruitt & Kevin Osborn & Matt Lanter & Paulo Rodriguez, Tate Arnett, Hunter Daniel, Maurice Townsell, Kevin Peake (quit) 20San Juan
Models (ages stated are at start of contest)
Semi-finalists ContestantAgeHeightHometownOccupationOutcomePlaceDominic26 Nashville, TennesseeCookEpisode 130-21Fox24 Orange County, CaliforniaYouth Pastor/StudentJacob19 Newborn, GeorgiaConstructionJeff 24 Redwood Falls, MinnesotaDay TraderJ.R.21 Norman, OklahomaStudentRocky24 Decatur, GeorgiaMarine Corps Sergeant/ServerStefan20 Buffalo, New YorkAbercrombie Brand RepSteven22 Joplin, MissouriBand Manager/WaiterYaacov25 IsraelAspiring Model/ActorZach19 Omaha, NebraskaHardware Store/Construction
Finalists ContestantAgeHeightHometownOccupationOutcomePlaceBrian Bernie 25 Moorpark, CaliforniaWaiterEpisode 120-17Casey Ward 20 Prescott, ArkansasPersonal TrainerMicah LaCerte25 Olathe, KansasPersonal TrainerSean Russell 21 Madison, ConnecticutMarketing StudentBlake Peyrot21 Los Angeles, CaliforniaStudentEpisode 216-13Brett Dupue 31 Las Vegas, NevadaReal Estate AgentCasey Weeks26 Huffman, TexasSteakhouse Host John Stallings24 Sandy, UtahRetail Sales ClerkRon Brown19 Florence, South CarolinaRetail SalesEpisode 312-11Seth Whalen23 Baltimore, MarylandAspiring Clothing Designer Jason Pruitt24 Vidalia, GeorgiaMarketing ResearchEpisode 410-7Kevin Osborn25 Long Island, New YorkConstruction WorkerMatt Lanter21 Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta Braves Batboy Paulo Rodriguez23 Cape Town, South AfricaStudentTate Arnett21 Dodge City, KansasFitness ConsultantEpisode 56Hunter Daniel20 De Queen, Arkansas Student/Lifeguard/Retail SalesEpisode 65Maurice Townsell 23 Reno, NevadaAir Filtration Systems SalesmanEpisode 74Kevin Peake22 Fort Lauderdale, FloridaClub Promoter/Embedded Model Episode 83 (quit)Rob Williams25 Arlington, TexasLaw Student 2Jon Jonsson †22 Carmel, CaliforniaAstrophysics Student 1
John Stallings John Stallings is a gay American model. He has appeared on The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, having been selected as a model by Janice Dickinson for her eponymous agency.
Paulo Rodriguez Paulo Rodriguez was eliminated because the judges saw him more as an acting character than a high fashion model.
Kevin Peake Actor and model. As 2003 Mr. USA, Kevin Peake represented the US in the International Male Modeling Competition, which he placed 2nd runner-up over all. At 18 yrs old, he was one of the finalists on ABC's Are You Hot?.
Matt Lanter Now an actor and model. Later, he appeared in the American television series 90210 as Liam Court, originally a recurring character but now a lead role. Starred in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, along with its film of the same name. Also starring in NBC's Timeless.
Jon Jonsson
Jon Jonsson (born Jon Grimkell Helgasson) was born in Reykjavík, Iceland to an Icelandic father and a Thai mother.
After winning Manhunt in 2004, he modeled and signed with IMG Models and several major agencies in Singapore, Australia, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
He also modeled in campaigns for companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Ed Hardy, OCBC Bank,... landed covers for several major magazines such as V, Men's Health, Urban, Female, Catalogue Singapore,... and headlined various runways shows and hosted the Singapore Fashion Festival for MediaCorp. Most notably, Jonsson was a temporary video jockey for MTV Southeast Asia
Known for shying away from the media and his disillusionment of the fashion industry, he quit modeling completely in 2007 to focus on his education. However, he returned in 2011, signing with Click Boston, Look Model Agency in San Francisco, and resigning with Nous Models in Los Angeles. In 2012, he was mainly represented by Ave Management in Singapore, but decided to focus on his legal career, having passed the California bar exam.
In 2009, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He wrote a thesis relating to the magnetic field signatures of Jupiter's moons.
In May 2012, Jonsson graduated from the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center),
He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and in 2013, became a registered patent attorney in the State of California.
On Sunday, February 23, 2025, Jon Jonsson died while hiking with friends in Carmel Valley, California. Jon felt unwell and sat to take a rest on the hike, passed out, and then died. Specific cause is unknown at this time.
Photo shoot guide
Episode 1 photo shoot: Topless in jeans; Group shot with Carmen Electra (casting) Episode 2 photo shoot: Late night rooftop with Marisa Miller Episode 3 photo shoot: Gender bender Episode 4 photo shoot: Advertising shoot with random products Episode 5 photo shoots: Secret paparazzi; B&W emotion in suit Episode 6 photo shoots: Swimsuit calendar; Runway on the pool Episode 7 photo shoot: Rainforest editorial Episode 8 photo shoots: B&W Nude
References
External links Official website of Manhunt (2004 TV series) (archive at the Wayback Machine)