BIOGRAPHY
samir bannout, Mr. Olympia, Mr. UNIVERse
Known as "the Lion of Lebanon", Samir Bannout won the Mr. Olympia title in 1983. At that time, only 6 men had held this most prestigious title since the contest was first introduced in 1965.
Samir has appeared on the covers of many fitness and bodybuilding publications, including Strength and Health, MuscleMag International, Muscle Digest, Flex, Muscle Training Illustrated, Muscle and Fitness, Muscle Up, IronMan and Muscular Development magazines.
Samir Bannout
The LION OF Lebanon
Born November 7, 1955, Lebanon
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Best Title: IFBB Mr. Olympia 1983
Samir's Story
My very first weight workout and I’d injured my back! It wasn’t a very propitious start to a bodybuilding career. But the pain soon went away and I set about learning correct exercise form so I wouldn’t injure myself again. Soon I was training regularly, growing stronger and progressively more muscular each passing week.
Because my brother-in-law was my role model, my first interest was in weight lifting. Whenever I couldn’t accompany him to the gym, I’d work out in a makeshift home gym that I installed on the roof of my parents’ house. After about six months of training, I won the Lebanese Junior (under 20) Weight-lifting Championship in my weight class, which only made me more enthusiastic about pumping heavy iron.