Jason Charles (aka The Angry Prepper), a 40-something-year-old former firefighter who lives in Manhattan, started prepping in 2010. He's the president of the New York City Preppers Network, the local chapter of a national organization that promotes self-reliance in case a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other unforeseen catastrophe strikes.
A recent article from Cheddar had this to say:
Jason Charles is a prepper and proud of it.
The New York City firefighter has always been concerned about the worst-case scenario. When he was a child, his mother told him she would grab their photo albums in case of an emergency. In turn, he built his own in-case-of-emergency bag, full of toys and other supplies.
"It wasn't a real bug-out bag," he explained. "It was just a kid's [bag]. And that was the first time I started diving into prepping."
His planning has evolved since then. Now he runs the Angry Prepper YouTube channel, which has more than [115,000] subscribers. There he details his escape routes, reviews gear, and teaches people how to make supplies, including fire-starting inferno bricks and homemade detergent. He was also featured on National Geographic's "Doomsday Preppers" television show, training in hand-to-hand combat as well as how to seal off his apartment in case he had to shelter-in-place.
Charles has also invested thousands of dollars into his own stockpiles of food and supplies, although he stopped tracking his budget after $5,000 of goods. Charles estimates he has enough goods for his family to survive about six months in his apartment, and an additional six to nine months in a nearby storage unit if the need arises.
"Now is time to do more before the hammer drops," he said. "But I don't think the hammer's dropped yet. I don't think we've seen anything yet."
While some may consider his methods extreme, he believes 2020's pandemic, civil unrest, hurricanes, and other disasters have helped justify his actions.
"I don't mind telling people, 'I told you so,' but I don't laugh at the situation," Charles said.
