In my time exploring the many, many bizarre subcultures there are to see both online and in real life, few have been as economically lucrative as the “prepper” niche. From poorly designed websites to street preachers, preppers believe that the end of the world is nigh. The world is ending, drop any aspirations you have or at least prepare to pull up your roots and live like Bear Grylls in a Mad Max future. Either hunker down in a sturdy bunker/bomb shelter, or else prepare a “bug out bag” full of any essentials should the unexpected occur. (Okay, that last part isn’t just a prepper thing; many government agencies suggest having these items on hand in case of a natural disaster). The more fundamentalist members among their ranks are religious believers that point to texts such as Revelations to show the end times; they pick bible verses and make subtle connections to drive home the point of imminent armageddon. The more secular preppers cite political instability, incoming economic collapse, thermonuclear annihilation or the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano as reasons to be concerned about their future welfare. And with the state of the world today, I can’t say I blame them.

Now, you may ask: why should we, the readers of Tommy’s Tour of the Obscure (who probably number in the single digits) care about preppers? Because they present an incredible economic opportunity, of course! Alex Jones, the famed conspiracy theorist (there’s some overlap here with my last post…) has an entire market on Infowars.com, where he sells “holistic medicine” and water treatment filters, along with seed kits, firearm attachments, bulletproof vests and radiation medication. “Risingsbunkers.com” offers deals to build a bunker on your property, along with offers for scary looking gaurd dogs. And it seems like this expensive hobby has even slid a bit into the mainstream; Silicon Valley tech CEOs, like Steve Huffman, made headlines earlier last year by building massive bunkers following concerns over Artificial Intelligence and the automation of manufacturing. Whether it’s a sign of growing instability or one of the more expensive fads coming into the limelight, someone’s sure to make bank off of this new community rapidly emerging from the depths of obscurity. Here’s to hoping their prepping never has to pay off.