Meet the authors
About Lex Andrews...
Lex is the co-founder of Square2, a Bucharest-based graphic design studio, an avid blogger and off-grid aficionado.
A child of communism's demise, Lex is no stranger to MacGyver-like DIY solutions when the government fails to help, having learned the "basic essentials" of jury-rigged generators, home-grown food storage and even how to build a water well from scratch at a young age. Never forgetting that the best safety net, in good times and bad, is your own self-sufficiency.
That's why, after graduating as an architect, and completing his master's degree, Lex poured himself into designs that weren't only super-effective, long-lasting and beautiful, but would provide their owners with as much flexibility as possible, rain or shine, hell or high water, as well as the biggest, quickest and most effective off-grid bang for your buck.
About Mark Johnson...
Mark is the CEO of Survival Sensei, LLC, well-known writer on preparedness, survival instructor, consultant and the director of the Survival Brain Trust.
A descendant of pioneers, Mark was raised in the tradition of self-reliance. He grew up scouting, hunting, camping, fishing, working archaeological digs in the Southwest and managing work crews in Arizona, before starting his own IT company (which he pleasantly left) to hike South America, and build on his earlier experience teaching desert survival skills to the commanding officer of the Brazilian Airforce Jungle Survival school, as well lecture at events like PrepperCon, volunteer as the program manager of his local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), practice as a competitive shooter and firearms instructor and build the Boy Scout Program in Portugal (among many other adventures).
Mark currently lives in an undisclosed location with enough food, water, munitions and gear to host a small (fully functional) battalion, as well as his own off-grid electricity. Now he devotes his life to helping others, abstaining from his usual penname here (aka Cache Valley Prepper) to better connect with readers.
The Philosophy
"SPECIALIZATION IS FOR INSECTS."
‐ ROBERT HEINLEIN
On my way to self-reliance I read countless books, attended dozens of classes and spent a fortune to realize my dream of living off-grid in a way that was disaster resilient, but I never found any single book or class that was a shortcut to self-sufficiency.
If someone had taught me back then, what I know now, it would have saved me a great deal of time and money. That's why I created this site. To prevent you from repeating all that difficult work. Giving you the fastest, cheapest way I know to become self-sufficient.
"In short, I wanted this to be the self-reliance guide I needed but couldn't find."
We believe knowledge is more powerful than any gadget. One that will ultimately degrade, malfunction or break anyway-leaving you up c**p creek in a pinch.
That's why, inspired by the concept of anti-fragility, and countless examples throughout history which prove adaptability, and resourcefulness, are the ultimate traits that lead to prosperity, we set out to give you the resources to achieve just that. To protect you from those unexpected "black swan" events, predatory business practices and over-engineered fair weather gizmos that promise you the earth but could in the end harm you.
"A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one".
What's more, we do this with 'just enough essential parts', not a truck-load of tools. Many of which you can salvage for free. With simple straight-forward language and beautiful easy-to-follow illustrations that make self-reliance feel like child's play. Because peace of mind shouldn't cost you a fortune or require an engineering degree.
What's more, specializing in a narrow skill might look efficient (when things go well) but the moment things change this narrow-sightedness may send you the way of the dodo.
