Peter Malinauskas made a splash – literally and figuratively – and set tongues wagging when he posed for a photograph shirtless in a swimming pool last month.
If anyone was unaware of who the South Australian Labor leader was at the time, it seemed everyone suddenly knew.
It was about five weeks out from the SA election and the opposition leader was at Adelaide Aquatic Centre to make an announcement to the media wxjmtzywhen the photographs were snapped.
The father-of-three, who has admitted going to the gym up to three times per week, appeared to be giving new meaning to the term “dad bod”.
He even posted his own photograph on Instagram, carrying his young daughter Eliza, with both of them grinning widely — and his strong arm fully flexed.
“Guns out, suns out,” one person commented.
“Hope those guns aren’t loaded,” another person said.
A third person wrote: “I didn’t know Peter had a set of guns on him.”
Outgoing Premier Steven Marshall likened it to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s famous shirtless photograph and suggested Mr Malinauskas had more time on his hands than he did to exercise.
“There’s no Putin-style campaigning from me, I can guarantee,” he told ABC radio.
While this election campaign should certainly not be based on anyone’s physical appearance, there is no doubt some people who are less interested in politics may be minded to cast their vote a certain way after viewing the pool images.
But of course, there is much more to Mr Malinauskas than his ripped body.
The 41-year-old was elected as the Member for Croydon at the 2018 state election and soon after became the SA Labor leader.
Before entering politics, Mr Malinauskas was the leader of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
Mr Malinauskas is married to Annabel and they have three young children — Sophie, Jack and Eliza.
In his spare time, Mr Malinauskas enjoys watching a Port Adelaide AFL game or playing for Adelaide Uni.
He describes himself as a “pretty average footy player” and a “weekend gardener”.
“My grandparents left war-torn Europe in the 40s in search of a better life for our family,” he said in a campaign video.
“My parents worked tirelessly to teach me the value of hard work.
“Now, I have a young family of my own and I want to provide a better future for them too.”
Mr Malinauskas has run a presidential style campaign which saw SA Labor returned to government after just one term in opposition.