Prepping For 'Doomsday' Becomes Big Business
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The Romans, the Mayan calendar, various religious figures and so-called psychics have all predicted Doomsday -- the end of the world -- and all have gotten it wrong. But that hasn't stopped people from preparing for it.
So many are getting ready that they've been given the name "preppers."
Tornadoes, fires and massive earthquakes are commonly seen in international TV coverage these days, and to some it looks like a preview of the end of the world.
"I think it first starts with a society of people looting houses, robberies, fires, riots; stuff like that," said Rory Royce. "And it just collapses from there."
Royce sells protection in what's called the "Ultimate Bunker." It's a home away from home when there are no homes left.
"We have in-store floor storage ... and that holds food, ammo, guns," he said while he showed CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger a trap door in the bunker.
There are freeze-dried meals for when there are no more stores.
"You just add hot water to it and you've got a good meal," Royce said.
Customers can bury the bunker or simply hook it to a car.
The fallout shelters of the 1950s are clearly making a comeback, and 21st century shelters are of a different breed. Being a survivalist has become big business.
One person who is doing his best to prepare for the end of days is Jack Jobe of Aurora, also known as "Survivor Jack." Jobe's home is especially prepared. His basement, which he calls "The Bunker," is filled with first-aid supplies, hidden food supplies and weapons.
"We've got shotguns, ammunition here. We would either decide, 'We're going to fight it out or we're just going to let it go,' " Jobe said.
Jobe told CBS4 he carries a "72-hour bag" with him when he goes outside. In it are a blanket, matches, gloves, fire starter, knife, poncho, duct tape, slingshot, ear plugs and much more.
At a recent Denver Doomsday Expo entrepreneurs were seeking an expanded market by using the selling line "The End of Your World."
At the expo there was a product called Fire Break, which is a gel designed to save homes during wildfires.
Sallinger asked the Fire Break representative if his product could have saved the more than 500 homes lost in the Black Forest Fire.
"Absolutely, it could have, yes sir," the man replied.
There are solar generators, glow sticks that turn into emergency beacons, and even personal disposable toilets.
"You tie it around your waist, pull the bag up underneath, let gravity do the rest," the disposable toilet representative said.
