Born to be Wild's Kiko Rustia among Benetton's online global casting winners

GMA-7's 'Born to Be Wild' host Kiko Rustia is among the 20 models who won United Colors of Benetton's "It's My Time" online global casting. "It's My Time" invited individuals from around the globe to upload online portfolios on their website. Registered users then voted for their favorite models, and the top 100 portfolios that get the most votes from their online community became finalists and included in Benetton's new book and received a 200 euro shopping spree. From the 100 finalists, a panel of judges then chose 20 models who will be included in the Italian clothing brand's 2010 Fall/Winter catalogue. Rustia was one of the lucky 20 who will fly to New York, USA for the catalogue shoot. The 28-year-old TV host's online portfolio received 4,861 votes from the site's online community. Rustia, who is shooting for 'Born' in Babuyan Islands, cannot be reached as of this posting, but on March 18, he updated his online portfolio with this message: "THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!!! I'm still on assignment right now and i apologize if i have to make this quick bacause my laptop is running on fumes and our generator wont be operational till 8pm ( 5hours from now, and we only run it for two! ) but i just had to find a way to thank you all for believing!!! you guys know me by now, and i normally answer each one personally, but forgive me this time, i hope you understand :( again, thank you so much. i owe it all to you guys. i couldnt have done it without each and everyone of you!!! i promise to write properly when i get the chance! peace love and respect!!!" Benetton's online global casting, a first of its kind, received a total of 65,140 entries. 2,036 entries were from the Philippines. — RSJ, GMANews.TV