‘This is the biggest spike in bomb shelter requests I have ever had,’ Ron Hubbard says.
The Texan has been working non-stop to fill the orders for his company Atlas Shelters, receiving nearly 500 over the last week alone.
And his bunkers are not your tin pot Morrison Shelter type seen in back gardens during World War Two.
These are built below ground or as extensions to people’s homes, using reinforced steel and cement.
And quite handily, they double up as cinema rooms and wine cellars.
Requests come from all over the world, but around 90% of the most recent batch are based in the Middle East.
Thankfully for Ron, 63, he opened his latest factory in Dubai just two days before the US and Israel’s Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Ron told Metro: ‘Just 48 hours after I declared myself open for business there on February 26, the bombs started flying.’
Most orders are from people living in Dubai and Qatar, with many coming from British expats.
He has a number of branches around the world, including in Poland where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw a huge surge in requests.
Ron said: ‘We have had four spikes since business began: The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 and now the Iran war, which is the biggest surge we have ever seen.’
Atlas Shelters began in 2011 after Ron decided he wanted to build his own bunker on his property.
But he was unsatisfied with what was on offer, so decided to crack on and design his own.
‘The important thing we do is make them usable during peacetime,’ he said.
Many of his designs double as guest bedrooms, cinema rooms and wine cellars so the space is not wasted before armageddon truly begins.
They also include gun walls, decontamination showers and Texan flag bedding, with 45 plans on offer.
They can range from basements below barns, to large underground compounds underneath large, bright mansions seen across America.
One of his most recent (in)famous clients includes Andrew and Tristan Tate, with a picture of the pair smiling in front of the construction project.
Ron, who describes himself as a conservative Christian, said: ‘It’s just great that he’s doing it.’
Naturally the shelters come at a price. If you are happy with an 8 by 12 inch capsule, you are looking at minimum $60,000.
But if you are willing to splurge for a 14 by 50 inch ‘Fat Boy’, costs can reach up to $475,000.
In 2023, Ron designed a shelter for Mark Zuckerberg beneath his $270 million Hawaiian estate.
In 2021, he even appeared in an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, delivering a prop bunker to Kim’s Calabasas mansion, although they ‘never actually bought one’.
Ron said: ‘Most of my clients are from wealthy families – they are CEOs and Christians, but I urge everyone to open their eyes to what is happening.
‘If you believe in Jesus, you already know we are approaching the end of days. And everyone needs to be prepared.’
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