THE GUYS
PHIL RABALAIS
Born in Southeast Texas and growing up in Louisiana, I didn't grow up in a family of preppers. I did grow up in a family that was extremely realistic and practical about the reality of tornados, hurricanes, flooding, and general calamity. We had a couple guns and a couple boxes of ammo to protect the home and family. We had a box of non-perishable food in case the power went out, and some gallon jugs of water. Mostly, we had a knowledge and a mentality of self reliance. If things needed to be fixed, my Dad was out there with me handing him (hopefully the right) tools and learning as I went. Mom handled the household duties, and along the way to learned how to run an absolutely awful stitch, cook, and take care of myself.
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Years later, when I enlisted, I got a very up close and personal look at how truly bad things could get in this world. A deployment to Iraq, followed by relief work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina beat the lesson into me that if things got bad enough, no one was coming to save me. When trouble came, we would just be another family caught in the middle, being tended by people with far too many in need for their relative numbers. Failing to be able to care for my eventual family just wasn't an option, so I started picking up where my parents had left off, with hurricane preparedness, and I dug in even deeper. All these years later, my version of 'preparedness' differs greatly from the one I was raised with, but the principles are the same: always be prepared to weather the storms life throws your way.
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Married with a daughter, the imperative I felt when I first gave myself over to the preparedness lifestyle has only strengthened. No longer is it enough to just 'rough it' like a combat vet knows how, but to do whatever I can to maintain normalcy, comfort, and consistency for my wife and daughter. As such, the 'prepper' mentality has now fully infiltrated into all aspects of my life. I keep a home budget, I stash cash, I have a retirement and a 401K, I put money in savings ALL because I'm preparing. I keep guns and ammo at the house BECAUSE I'm preparing. We have food, water, building materials, fuel, extra blankets....the list goes on and on not because we hoard things, but because every time we ask the question 'what if' we come up with a plan. Now, being that same dad and husband that first started my journey into life and preparedness, I'm doing my best to pass along the lessons I learned along the way to my daughter to prepared her for the world she will face, while I share all that I know with anyone that will listen. Because when things go bad, the more of us that can take care of ourselves, and our neighbors, the better we will all survive.
​Growing up I was never involved in the prepping, survivalist, or even the firearms communities. I spent most of my free time learning one trade or another from both of my Grandfathers and my Dad. Started my first job at 13 in a machine shop and have been doing that ever since. Nowadays my specialty is Tool and Die work for the consumer goods, medical, automotive, and aerospace industries.
After buying my first house I was sitting on the floor with a buddy when it hit me. It wasn't a joke they sold me a house. I was the adult in the room. If something went wrong it was going to fall to me to solve the problem. That caused me to deep dive into the rabbit hole that is preparedness. It started with a first aid and ballooned into a seriously deep pantry, ample ammunition and enough spare parts to rebuild nearly everything in my home that handles water or electricity. That first aid kit is now a set of water and air tight first aid cases with everything my nurse friend thought he could be capable of using in a pinch. My wife thought it was all a bit excessive at first. But when a pipe burst during the polar vortex of 2019 at 4:30am on a Thursday morning she became a believer too. When something goes wrong and the hardware store is closed, the ambulance is on another call, the police are 45 minutes away, or you just can’t afford groceries that week, being prepared is the answer.
I have no grand plan to survive the collapse of society as we know it. But Thursday at 4:30am happens every week and sometimes that means your basement is flooding, or the transmission went out on your truck. That I will make sure I can get through with the absolute minimum disruption to my daily life. Sometimes being ready for that is as boring as an emergency fund. Boring or not it is as vital as a tourniquet or chainsaw chaps.
Here in Illinois we get everything from 117F down to -38F, torrential rains to blizzards dumping a couple feet of snow. At the time of writing this in August of 2024 Illinois has recorded 100 tornadoes so far this year. My family has been very fortunate to not be directly impacted so far. But that is a possibility every summer. Bad days happen. As a responsible adult it is your job to make yourself ready for them to the extent you can. That is what prepping is to me and I hope I can bring that to the show. If you are one of the lucky few who can be ready for doomsday, fantastic. But if your going to go that far you better be ready for Thursday as well.
I was born in Arizona but raised in Central, Michigan. After spending some time at a community college I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to attend University. I graduated and have never left. I enjoy the city but I find myself missing the quieter life. I find that every time I move I go further away from the city, so it will be interesting to see where I move next and how far away from Grand Rapids I end up.
Growing up, I was always shooting with my family. I have been shooting since I can remember, and have always been into the idea of survivalism but never really went past that. What got me into the act was the show Jericho. Watching that show made me really think about the what-if scenario and it sparked something that has yet to go out. My dad has always encouraged firearms, either for hunting or self defense. He laughs at the idea of prepping but in reality he is closer to one than he thinks. I grew up hunting with my dad, I ate a lot of venison growing up that he shot, and my mom always had a garden. Sure, we had a grocery store, but I grew up eating home grown vegetables and it makes me want to start my own garden once I get the property for it.
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When I talk to people about being prepared, I tell them always be ready for your zombie apocalypse. Many people laugh but in reality, the phrase Zombie Apocalypse doesn't have to refer to the flesh eating. I use it to generalize that "oh shit" moment. Everybody has their own zombie apocalypse, whether it is a hurricane, tornado, or even a winter storm. In Michigan, we deal with cold winters and at times many feet of snow. I keep cold weather gear in my car for over half the year and the other half I keep lots of water and things to deal with heat.
I bugged Phil to bring me on because I feel I am the other voice that says, "Yeah, but what about this?" I feel Phil and I have a good common ground, but sometimes I like being the devil's advocate. I also feel that me being in Michigan and him in Louisiana helps split the show into South vs. North scenarios. I am a big fan of any movie or book that deals with survival or the apocalypse. What I hate is how generalized they are. Normally they take place down south or out west where it is always warm. I like the idea that Phil is sitting in AC when I need to put on a hoodie because it's 37 degrees. I hope I can help Phil bring the show to a new level. I, like Phil, want to teach and educate. I love teaching people about firearms and the idea of self defense. My goal is to spark that flame in somebody and get them learning and thinking in a different way than they are used to. If I am ever wrong, please don't hesitate to reach out and talk with me. This whole show is a learning experience and I know I won't always have the right answers.
ANDREW BOBO
