Video Overview

A massive thank you to Cliff — aka TheUrbanPrepper — for sharing this rare and personal look behind the channel. In this video, Cliff reflects on what it felt like to spend three full days at Shot Show in Las Vegas as 100% The Urban Prepper — no day job, no dad duties, just fully immersed in the preparedness community he built from scratch in 2011. It’s honest, humble, and genuinely moving. If you’ve ever found yourself down a rabbit hole of bug-out bags, Altoids kits, and everyday carry content, there’s a good chance Cliff put you there. We are here for it.

15 Years of Impact

• • Started in 2011 — A hobby channel born at the dining room table, late at night, just Cliff and a camera
  • 321,000+ subscribers — A community built on practical, calm, non-fearmongering preparedness content

Shot Show 2025 — Three full days fully present as The Urban Prepper for the first time ever

• Signature look — The Kangol hat, dark frame glasses, short beard — instantly recognizable to the community
• Known for: Altoids kits, downloadable PDFs, family preparedness, urban EDC, organization systems
• Mike from Last Line of Defense — Fellow creator and friend from the community
• Matt from Magic Prepper — Met at Shot Show
• The Tactical Rabbi — Community creator and supporter
• Roman & the Mirror Safety team — 7-year partnership; helped Cliff access Shot Show
• Goat Guns family — Watching since year one
• Eric from Rule the Wasteland — Part of the creator community at the show
• Uncle Poncho (Brother-in-law) — The man behind the camera for the entire trip

Editor’s Insight

If you’ve spent any time in the EDC or preparedness space on YouTube, you’ve probably crossed paths with The Urban Prepper. What Cliff built over 15 years is genuinely rare — not just a channel, but a community tone. In a space that can veer quickly into fear, politics, and tactical cosplay, Cliff stayed grounded. No camouflage. No fearmongering. Just practical, organized, honest content for regular people navigating real-world uncertainties.

This video is different from his usual format. It’s not a gear breakdown or a kit review. It’s Cliff stepping back and asking: what is this thing I’ve built? The answer, from 15 years of evidence, is a lot. Viewers writing in from Israel, Indonesia, Sweden, the UK. Families building their first bug-out bags because of a calm voice on the internet. A person at baggage claim recognizing him and saying thank you. That’s impact.

What makes Cliff’s journey resonate so deeply with the EDC community specifically is how much of preparedness overlaps with everyday carry philosophy. Both are about being ready before you need to be. Both are about systems, intentionality, and the quiet discipline of thinking ahead. Whether it’s a tourniquet in your bag or a PDF checklist in your notes app, the mindset is the same — and Cliff has been one of the most consistent voices advocating for it in a way that feels accessible rather than extreme.

The Shot Show segment of this video is particularly powerful. For three days, Cliff got to just be The Urban Prepper — no desk job, no rush hour, no code reviews. And what he found was that the community was real. The people who had been watching silently for years showed up in person: at booths, at baggage claims, in hallways. That’s rare for a creator who films alone at a dining room table most nights.

His honesty about the tension between his day job and the channel is also refreshing. He acknowledges the thought — what if I did this full time? — but doesn’t dress it up in fantasy. He’s a husband and a father first. That groundedness is exactly why people trust him, and exactly why this community has lasted 15 years.

Closing Remarks

Fifteen years is a long time to show up, especially when it’s squeezed between a corporate desk job, family life, and all the normal chaos that comes with being a person in the world. Cliff has done it with consistency, humility, and genuine care for the people watching. From all of us here at EverydayCarryBlog — and from a community that’s been quietly inspired by what you built — congratulations, Cliff. The next 15 years of the preparedness space will be better because you’re still in it. Subscribe to TheUrbanPrepper on YouTube and join the community that’s been growing since 2011.