Suburban Survivalists: 'I Just Want to Be Prepared'

"I just wanted a back-up country in case I didn't like the way mine was going so that I could just leave," Strauss said. "That's where it all began and my only goal was to get a second passport, which I got, to the island of St. Kitts. Then I started realizing that it's all about having the skill to be self-sufficient, and I think that there is a side to it that is just fun ... as a guy, you should probably know it anyway."

Neil Strauss Owns Livestock and a 'Survival Bike'

Inside the garage of his Hollywood Hills home is a sports car that seems appropriate for a guy who counts rock stars as friends. But he's also got a specially-designed motorbike, the Rokon, that would allow him to speed away in tight situations.

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Zoltan Hites attended a survival seminar to... View Full Caption

Zoltan Hites attended a survival seminar to learn how to escape dire scenarios, such as getting locked in the truck of a car by kidnappers. He's a survivalist -- someone who prepares for the worst situations. Close

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"It's sort of your ultimate all-terrain survival bike," he said. "The wheels are actually hollow and can store water or gasoline, two gallons each."

The bike is stores along stockpiles of canned food, bottled water, and toilet paper. And, in the backyard? His goats, which serve not only as pets but also as a source of milk, and he says, meat, should it ever come to that.

But for Strauss, having survival skills that can help him out of a bind is more important than having the toys. While he practices those skills to keep them fresh -- including working as a volunteer EMT -- he said he hopes he'll never needed them.

If, Strauss said, "you spend your whole life preparing for doomsday and doomsday never happened," Strauss said. "Two things: you were wrong and you have wasted your life."