If you surf in and around Goleta, you may have noticed some young shredders with
an old english LCU on their boards. LCU stands for Loose Cannons Unlimited.
Mike Cannon is the man behind that label.
Born and raised in Goleta, Mike has been surfing Goleta his whole life.
He started at Campus Point when he was 11 years old and soon expanded his horizons to include
Depressions and Sands.
Here he is with his favorite board at the time, his dad’s C.I. Tri-Plane Hull with a textured deck.
He started out riding single fins; “Full on old school, long hair, shitty suit”.
Mike hung out and practiced his technique at Sparks Skate Park, off Storke Road near where
Zizzo’s Coffee is now. As he got into his teenage years, he started surfing spots further north
and more localized. He managed to get in good with some of the heavier locals because they
lived in his neighborhood.
This is one of many brand new Progressive boards Mike got for his birthday.
His dad would hook him up at least once a year with a new stick. He started riding Dave
Johnson’s boards at the age of 13 and rode them until he started making his own,
just six years ago.
Mike scored a job at True Ames in the mid 90’s, and from there he moved over to working with
Dave Johnson. “My wife went to Dave to order me a new board, and for some reason, asked if
Dave had any work”. He did, and Mike was eager to get started.
Cannon says Dave gave him all the tools he needed to become a shaper and keep in mind he
had been riding Dave’s boards for over 27 years. “Damn near the whole time I’ve been surfing”
Mike worked with Dave Johnson and they enjoyed a busy spell cranking boards out for a
well established local company.
“I worked for Dave for about 5 years, just killing it.
Then Channel Islands was bought out by Burton,
and things slowed down.”
With no money, two kids, a house payment and a dream to make boards for
locals, Mike started Loose Cannons Unlimited.
Today he’s designing boards on CAD programs and carving out foam to have
team riders test.
Now LCU has turned into an underground action sports company.
LCU now has 16 team riders.
Click Here for his website.
Keep an eye out for more to come from Mike Cannon and LCU.
