Never realized how short Samir was. He claimed 5'7"-5'8", yet was noticeably shorter than Tom Platz, who was under 5'7" himself. He couldn't have been more than 5'5" in reality.
Old post, but on the above question:
No, I don't think so. From meeting Samir, and him being 55 at the time I met him, I would pin Samir's prime height at 5'7" to 5'8", based on my height, one inch taller.
It's possible he lost a CM due to age, but I can't fathom him being 5'5". You know, it's hard to say for certain...but my experience from meeting bodybuilders is that some - maybe even most - lie about their weight, but very few lie about their height. If a bodybuilder is 5'10" and 245-lb, it would be more impressive in some sense to claim 5'8" and 245-lb.
So I don't see bodybuilders really needing to lie about height, especially with 6'0" being somewhat of a death knell in terms of bodybuilding judging.