The survivalist movement in the United States has spawned the "disaster prep" phenomenon and has become a lifestyle and identity with potential health-related consequences. "Preppers" anticipate either a natural or man-made apocalypse which will result in the total collapse of civil society, prompting them to "prep" by securing places to shelter during the chaos and stockpiling their homes with food, water, fuel, medicine, and supplies. The purpose of this article was to document the impact of survivalist identity upon health-related decision making and health-seeking behavior, as well as examine the identity building and community formation processes as they unfold in virtual contexts. Data were collected from publicly available survivalism and the Prepper web logs (blogs). Results included discussion about the maintenance of chronic conditions, ethical dilemmas regarding medical dependency, and anticipatory changes to health behavior, with implications for future research on identity building and virtual community participation.

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