Let’s be real: the answer to that question is a resounding “no.” But we’ll let the photo-ops—er, completely candid pictures—speak for themselves. From tagging Siberian tigers to exploring shipwrecks and hoisting himself into a missile complex, Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t afraid to live as if each day were a photoshoot for Field & Stream. After a recent vacation, the Kremlin posted a video of Putin’s three-minute struggle with a massive pike catch. (His spokesman claims the fish weighed 46 pounds, though the Internet is none too sure.) But after all, no vacation for this man’s man is complete without showcasing his prowess at some extreme sport, preferably while shirtless. Let’s take a look back at the longtime leader’s penchant for adventure.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty
Russian President Vladimir Putin exercises in a gym at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia, August 30, 2015.
Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters
After basking in the glow of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Putin returned to the site of the Games to cross sticks in a gala match of the National Amateur Ice Hockey Teams' Festival on May 10, 2014.
Even Siberian tigers are submissive under the hand of Putin. While visiting the Barabesh tiger reserve, Putin assisted staff in tranquilizing and electronically tagging the rare cat to protect it from extinction.
Animal Press/Barcroft Media/Getty
“Vladimir Vladimirovich, be careful, she can bite,” an aide warned after Putin snagged this beauty from the sea on a recent vacation. “I will bite her myself,” he replied, before kissing the fish on the head and dumping it in a bucket. The only surprising aspect of this pike-fishing adventure is that he managed to keep his shirt on.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
No vehicle is too hardcore to be driven by Putin, not even this motor tricycle at a 2010 international bike show festival in the Black Sea resort of Sevastopol, Ukraine.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty
During a 2013 visit to the Kyrgyzstan presidential residence, Putin nimbly jumps across a mountain spring.
Alexei Nikolsky/AP
And the shirt comes off. On a summer vacation in southern Siberia, Putin rides a horse through the rocky terrain outside the town of Kyzyl.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
Burly dogs for a burly guy. In this March photo, distributed by a state-owned news agency, Putin poses in the snow with his dogs Yume, an Akito-Inu, and Buffy, a Bulgarian shepherd, in Moscow.
Alexei Druzhinin/AP
What’s an inspection for if you can’t get in the thing? Putin climbs aboard the new fifth-generation fighter at Ramenskoye Airfield, where he announced that an additional 30 billion rubles, or around $1 billion, would be needed complete the project.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty
There’s no danger too great for this fearless leader. Here, he shows the kids at an educational youth forum at Lake Seliger how to conquer the climbing wall.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty
An unarmed Putin actually looks almost, dare we say, happy while posing with two unperturbed reindeer.
Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty
No camo here. Putin navigated the brush of the Republic of Tuva, in southern Siberia, with just a hunting rifle.
Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty
Cool headphones, bro. Putin holds a pistol on a visit to the headquarters of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Department in Moscow.
Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty
We wouldn’t want to be this guy’s sparing partner. At a school in St. Petersburg, Putin hosts a judo training session. A lifelong judo disciple, Putin has credited the martial art with saving him from delinquency during his childhood.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
Don't worry, ma’am, he knows how to handle that. Putin takes aim with a replica Kalashnikov at shooting gallery at an exhibition of the Russian Railways’ research center.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
Sporting a fur-lined camo jacket and pants, Putin casually poses with a hunting rifle during a trip to the Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Reserve in the Tuva Republic near the Mongolian border.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
Just because he’s wearing a suit doesn’t mean he can’t hoist himself into a new surface-to-air missile complex called Vityaz, also known as MASM of MRADS, in St. Petersburg.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty
Hand on the throttle, Putin drives a motorboat during his recent July vacation.
Alexander Astafiev/AFP/Getty
Putin looks just as comfortable on his way to the ocean’s bottom as he does in the wild. While in the Gulf of Finland, Putin submerges in a Sea Explorer 5 bathyscaphe, a free-diving exploration vehicle, to visit the site where the Russian warship Oleg sank in 1869.
Alexei Nickolsky/AFP/Getty
Is Putin setting a fish-size goal for himself while casting his rod in during a recent vacation?
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty
