Beast Factory

By Sam Bleiberg
Santa Monica is more of a beachside getaway than industrial grind house. But, this doesn’t stop Kermit Cannon from operating a “Beast Factory” on the campus of Santa Monica High School.
For the past 17 years, Cannon, a strength and conditioning coach, has been churning out faster, better, stronger professional and student athletes. His on-campus workouts have contributed to the success of athletes such as Geoff Schwartz (an offensive tackle on the Carolina Panthers), Max Forrer (a center at Oregon University), Jennifer Katona (a volleyball player at Pittsburgh University), James Cooper (signed by the New York Yankees) and, most recently, Tyler Skaggs (first round pick of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).
“Beast” status is not required to attend Cannon’s workouts; on the contrary, it is acquired. He conducts workouts for “at-risk” youth from the Santa Monica Police Activities League and states that “any student who reaches out for help” can receive the same physical tutelage as these top-of-the-line athletes.
“My favorite aspect of youth training is having student athletes approach me after they have graduated and tell me how my training has changed their life or helped them achieve their goals,” Cannon said. “To watch someone you trained as a youth compete in a sport on television is a thrill.
And, in the near future, Cannon’s sphere of influence will grow drastically with the publishing of his book: The Beast Factory. According to Cannon, the book, which is intended for high-school-aged kids and includes airbrushed artwork, motivational aphorisms, diet advice, information about the dangers of drugs and steroids, exercise descriptions, and 12 weeks of training routines, is a rarity in the market.
The motivation for writing the book stems from Cannon’s war on obesity. His manifesto, so to speak, is “to help as many youth as possible to attain their goals and lead a strong, healthy lifestyle.”
For the furthering of this goal he joined Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! non-profit organization, which shares Cannon’s aim and can be investigated further at letsmove.gov. He also is a member of the magazine Men’s Health’s FitSchools program, which “gives schools schools, teachers, and parents the tools they need to help kids fall in love with fitness” and can be researched at menshealth.com/men/health/other-diseases-ailments/mens-health-fitschool.
Cannon leads by example, being in tip-top shape. His own fitness originates from two of his strongest traits: altruism and competitiveness (he broke five school records and was named Athlete of the Year as a track star as a track star at Culver City High School). In order to satiate his own competitive streak and push his student athletes to the limit, he participates in every workout.
“I get my sports fix by leading from the front,” Cannon said. “I do the exact workout that I have a group of student athletes do right along with them.”
Speaking of motivation, Cannon accepts nothing less than his subjects’ best effort.
“Everyone encourages everyone else,” he said. “We get in each other’s faces and yell if we have to. We like our music as hardcore and loud as our workouts.”
Cannon’s ultimate goal is to operate a non-profit organization that travels the world running fitness programs. In the mean time, he will be content to continue to produce beasts.

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