Dispatch #9: Anatomy of Resilience - How do you Measure Up?

How to forge the Unbreakable: When to be the 'Gray Man' and when to go full 'John Wick'. This piece is jam-packed with information for the survivalist mindset.

“Si vis pacem, para bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war).

- WINSTON 1940 - ALIVE AS OF 2025 (JOHN WICK: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)

If you can imagine this, better yet, already on your way to having this, then fear you shall not.

The Flashpoint

Then Drifter loomed, a cowboys silhouette etched against the glitching skyline, his gaze slicing the haze like a laser. Before the calamity, the wise, mocked as conspiracy outcasts, wove redundancy into their bones - backup generators purring, water purifiers stockpiled, metals stacked and cash stacked. Pantries packed with grains and other non-perishables. Years of prep forged their edge: bug-out bags and solar chargers, bunkers bristling with drones and ammo, each move a defiance of doom.

The normies, the asleep and the sheeple, smug in their ignorance, who jeered and mocked like unworldly imbeciles, their shelves empty, their wallets blind to the storm. When the cataclysm arrived - banks collapsing, currency reduced to digital dust - they howled as they bled out, clawing for scraps in looted ruins. Yet the preppers thrived, their strongholds unyielding. Where paper wealth vanished, precious metals and tangibles of physical value reigned supreme. Gold and silver bought and rebuilt empires, trade skills turned kingly. Deaths of the unprepared were in the tens and hundreds of millions.

Then Drifter’s voice boomed a titanic proclamation across the atmosphere, “build twice, stand but once”. His tone reverberating in echoes across the sky. “Heed the storm’s whisper, or perish in its scream!” While scoffers starved, the wise stood resolute, their prep a shield, forging the unbreakable in merciless maelstrom.

---

Real World “On the Ground” Analysis

Drifter’s wasteland reflects our economic brink, where inflation and instability threaten collapse. Using 2025 data and survivalist practices, we dissect nine pillars that will get us across a full reset as best as we possibly can. These forge the unbreakable in an inflationary maelstrom, equipping preppers to thrive where others falter.

Financial Resilience: Navigating Cashflow, Assets and Institutional Risk

1. CASHFLOW AND LIQUIDITY UNDER STRESS
   With inflation, the stealth theft tax, continuing to squeezes cashflow, you still need to allocate funds to set as side as liquid cash. Survivalist James Wesley Rawles (born 1960) stresses holding 3–6 months of cash to weather bank runs or supply disruptions. Other preparedness communities recommend stashing $2,000–$5,000 in small denominations, as ATMs and digital payments falter in crises, as seen in 2024 regional outages. Personally, two to five thousand is not enough. I am of the very strong opinion that you should have about $10,000 to $15,000 MINIMUM in liquid form for instant needs and spread the location risk.

   Bank liquidity stress tests, simulating market shocks like withdrawal surges or funding freezes, reveal centralised system vulnerabilities. Preppers counter with diversified liquidity: physical cash for immediate needs, barterable goods like batteries or hygiene items, and silver coins for trade when currency loses trust. A 2025 prepper survey shows 70% maintain cash reserves in multiple formats, ensuring flexibility when banks falter.

   When to Gray Man: For the average citizen, blend into crowds during bank runs by dressing plainly so think generic jeans and a hoodie, carrying cash in a nondescript wallet or hidden money belt to avoid pickpockets or looters. Avoid public discussions about your reserves to stay under the radar.
   

   John Wick Would Do This: The ‘Boogey Man’ would have been long gone by now as he acts on foresight, intuition and instincts. Disperse liquidity across encrypted offshore accounts and concealed rural caches, like a buried safe in a remote cabin, hiring discreet fixers to manage barter networks through coded channels, ensuring funds flow undetected in chaos!

2. HARD ASSETS VS PAPER ASSETS
   When the currency collapses, as Drifter foresaw, hard assets eclipse paper wealth. REMEMBER: VALUE IS WEALTH not fiat and crypto vapour. Eliminate, as much as you possibly can, counter-party risk. Cody Lundin champions physical gold, silver, and tools over stocks, which plummeted 50% in 2008’s crisis. Gold prices, up 37% in 2025, and silver - up 42%, traded for fuel or ammo in survivalist circles, shine when fiat fails. These are hard assets. For the record, Bitcoin is not a hard assets although they claim only 21 million capped makes it a hard asset. Nobody can prove that because it’s vapour - like fiat.

   Paper assets like ETFs or bonds, tied to volatile markets and subject to counter-party risk, falter under stress, as seen in 2023’s banking scares. Preppers favour tangible assets: land for self-sufficiency, heirloom seeds for sustainable food, or solar panels for off-grid power. A 2025 prepper forum recounts trading silver rounds for a generator during a blackout, bypassing failed digital payments. Lundin emphasizes hard assets’ independence from institutional stability, making them a financial survivalist’s lifeline.

   When to Gray Man: Trade silver or goods in small, discreet transactions, using plain bags at local markets and avoiding flashy jewellery or tech to deflect attention from looters or opportunists, blending as an ordinary shopper.
   

   John Wick Would Do This: Convert wealth into rare coins and custom tools that are specialised, high-quality, and often bespoke equipment tailored for survival, self-defence, or self-sufficiency in a collapse scenario. They would already be stashed in covert vaults under unassuming properties, trading through vetted black-market brokers in private meetups (start building networks of like-minded people) to secure critical supplies undetected.

3. SHELTER FROM INSTITUTIONAL COUNTERPARTY RISK AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION
   Institutional counterparty risk, that are banks or brokers defaulting or exercising conditions in the fine print that are not in your favour - because they never are - threatens wealth, as seen in 2023’s Silicon Valley Bank collapse, where depositors faced frozen funds. Fernando Aguirre, the legend who survived the 2001 economic collapse in Argentina, advocates holding assets outside banks, like physical gold (keeps coming up). Geographic diversification mitigates regional risks such as riots, grid failures, or disasters by spreading resources across urban caches or stable regions/areas. A 2025 survivalist survey shows 60% of preppers maintain multiple storage sites, with 25% holding assets abroad. Survivalist forums describe hiding caches in remote cabins or shipping containers, ensuring access if one region fails. Fernando’s Argentina 2001 collapse experience underscores avoiding single-point failures in institutional or geographic reliance.

   When to Gray Man: Move assets using unmarked vehicles and plain attire, posing as a commuter to avoid scrutiny from authorities or neighbours, keeping transfer details off social media or public records.
   

   John Wick Would Do This: Smuggle assets to international safehouses via private couriers or ‘Transporters’ or reputable shipping companies, to transport his wealth, with decoy caches to mislead trackers, ensuring no bank or hacker can touch his resources.

4. DEBT AND LEVERAGE IN A SHTF SCENARIO
   Debt is a death trap in collapse. It’s a noose around you neck ready to be yanked at a moments notice if you are not wise. Dave Canterbury, another legendary survival expert, warns debt drains resources when income vanishes. Survivalist forums report preppers clearing 22% annual interest rate credit card debt (good advice) before stockpiling, with 70% of 2025 preppers debt-free, according to some surveys, prioritising flexibility. In a real SHTF, bartering skills or hard assets replaces loans, as creditors may seize homes or vehicles. Bank stress tests show high leverage amplifies risk when funding costs spike, as in 2008’s mortgage crisis. Canterbury advises zero-debt living to redirect funds to food, gear, or land - and gold and silver. A 2025 prepper account describes paying off debt to fund a solar-powered bunker, dodging creditor claims in a crisis. These are not extreme examples.

   When to Gray Man: Settle debts discreetly with cash or barter, using in-person payments to avoid digital trails, and keep financial moves private to avoid creditor or neighbour attention, appearing as an average debtor.
   

   John Wick Would Do This: ‘Jonathon’ as Winston called him, would liquidate debts via anonymous cash drops in dead-drop exchanges, freeing resources to fund fortified retreats in remote locales, using intermediaries to mask his financial trail from creditors. Furthermore, John would have seen this coming and would have sold off assets, if needed, to settle debts. But John would not have debt as he is fully decentralised and does not dwell in the fiat world. We will be doing a full report on How to Decentralise yourself soon.

Physical Preparedness: Redundancy Beyond Money

5. BUG OUT OR BUG IN, GO BAGS
   Redundancy defines preppers, with 80% maintaining bug-out bags, that is, containing ready to eat meals (MRE’s), water filters, multi-tools, and first-aid kits, compass (we will do a deep dive on this at a later date), per a 2025 Prepper Poll. Bug-in setups, preferred by 65%, stock 6–12 months of rice, beans, canned proteins, and solar generators.

   Les Stroud, another survival expert, emphasizes dual-purpose gear like paracord for shelters and/or repairs in both scenarios. Survivalist communities seal grains in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and vacuum-pack meats, countering supply chain disruptions like 2024’s port strikes. Stroud advocates redundant systems—multiple water sources, backup power—to prevent single-point failures. Go-bags, often kept in vehicles or secondary locations, ensure instant mobility.

   When to Gray Man: Carry go-bags in nondescript backpacks, blending with evacuees in casual attire like a commuter, hiding survival gear to avoid looters or gangs, and keeping movements routine to deflect suspicion.
   

   John Wick Would Do This: Equip go-bags with compact satellite comms and custom-forged blades and weapons for the course, stored in hidden vehicle compartments or off-grid caches, enabling silent bug-out or fortified bug-in operations with elite efficiency.

Social Strategy: Trust, Alliances and Adaptability

6. WHO TO TRUST AND WHO TO LEAVE BEHIND IN THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
   Unfortunately, trust is scarce in collapse. Selco Begovic, a Balkan war survivor, trusts only proven allies: family or those sharing resources pre-crisis, like food or training. Prepper communities form “pacts” - like wolves - with 55% excluding mockers who dismissed preparedness. Begovic’s wartime betrayals highlight risks from those who hoard or panic, urging small, loyal groups. A 2025 survey shows 70% of preppers limit trusted circles to 5–10 people, vetted through shared drills or resource pooling, ensuring reliability in chaos. DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY!

   When to Gray Man: Avoid untrustworthy allies by fading into the background, using neutral speech and casual attire to deflect attention, appearing as an ordinary neighbour to protect your trusted circle.

   
   John Wick Would Do This: Curate a shadow network of vetted allies, training in secret safehouses with coded signals, severing ties with betrayers via encrypted comms and swift, untraceable exits.

7. SYSTEM COLLAPSE SCENARIO’S AND COUNTERMEAUSURES
   System collapses like bank runs, grid failures, supply chain meltdowns all require robust countermeasures. Liquidity stress tests show banks failing under withdrawal surges within hours. Preppers counter with off-grid solar, wells, and gardens, used by 40% in 2025, per surveys. Fernando Aguirre’s (mentioned above) Argentina collapse experience emphasizes bartering ammo or medicine when currency fails. Survivalist forums describe 48-hour “collapse drills,” with 30% refining gear post-test, like adding backup fuel sources.

   A 2025 prepper report details surviving a blackout with solar-powered comms and bartered goods, bypassing grid dependency.

   When to Gray Man: Barter quietly in chaotic markets, wearing plain clothes and making small trades to avoid looter or authority notice, posing as a regular trader to blend in.

   
   John Wick Would Do This: Run covert drills in abandoned warehouses, mastering off-grid systems and bartering through encrypted channels, countering chaos with surgical precision and hidden reserves. Cash and metals would be at the ready.

8. ALLIANCES
   Alliances amplify survival odds. The American Preppers Network (founded 2008) promotes skill-sharing—mechanics, medics, gardeners. Prepper communities pool bulk rice or patrol duties, with 45% of preppers in 5–20 person groups, per 2025 surveys. Begovic caps groups at 15 to avoid betrayal, a lesson from Balkan sieges. Personally, a group of 5 to 10 works well from a cohesive perspective. A 2025 prepper tribe describes a co-op trading medical skills for ammo, strengthening their network. Alliances require clear roles and mutual trust to balance security and strength.

   When to Gray Man: Join alliances discreetly, meeting in low-key locations like community centres, avoiding public displays of resources, and appearing as a typical group member to hide collective power.

   
   John Wick Would Do This: Forge elite and skilled crews in clandestine meetups, sharing skills like cryptography or marksmanship in fortified compounds, defending strongholds with coordinated, covert strikes.

9. THE ROLE OF ADAPTABILITY
   Adaptability is the prepper’s edge. Bear Grylls, love him or not (I love the guy) has achieved many accolades - many than most mockers like my father-in-law, improvises shelters from tarps or power from car batteries. Survivalist communities repurpose old radios for comms or use plants for medicine, with 70% training in three skills; e.g., foraging, gunsmithing - per 2025 reports. Banks adapt to stress with contingency plans (not much these days - but they used to); preppers adapt with diverse skills and fuels. A 2025 prepper story details using scavenged solar panels to power a bunker, showcasing flexibility in resource-scarce scenarios.

   When to Gray Man: Adapt silently, concealing improvised solutions like makeshift shelters or comms with common materials, blending as an ordinary scavenger to avoid desperate eyes.

   
   John Wick Would Do This: Craft tools from scavenged tech in hidden workshops, mastering skills like herbal medicine or EMP-resistant comms, outsmarting chaos with relentless, covert ingenuity.

Wake Up and Act!

The time is now. Open your eyes. The storm’s closing in, with banks teetering, shelves emptying, and prices choking wallets. Don’t wait for collapse to force your hand. You won’t make it. Will it take empty stores or worthless savings to move you? Act with a sense of urgency. Stock rice and beans etc, stash silver, stack gold, clear debts, and pack that go-bag now.

Survivalists like Rawles and Begovic built their defences years ago - don’t be left exposed. The clock’s ticking in 2025; every moment you hesitate, the chaos grows and you lose advantage exponentially. Act today, forge your plan, and stand unbreakable before it’s too late.

When to Gray Man: Prepare quietly, using plain storage like generic bins and discreet purchases at local stores, posing as a typical shopper to avoid scoffers’ or looters’ notice. Don’t blabber your mouth. The old saying rings true here: loose ships sink ships.

John Wick Would Do This: Stockpile in secret bunkers, train with elite mentors or skilled friends in remote locales, and secure resources through encrypted deals, building an unassailable defence with no wasted moves.

THE FINAL SYNTHESIS: THE UNBREAKABLE PATH

Drifter’s foresight guides the wise. Here is the sum up:

• financial resilience - cash buffers, hard assets, debt-free living - shields against collapse.

• Physical redundancy - bug-out bags, bunkers, go bags - ensures survival.

• Social strategies - trusted allies, adaptable skills - counter betrayal and chaos.

Survivalists like Lundin, Aguirre, Begovic and Grylls prove layered prep defeats mockery, forging the unbreakable in tempest of 2025 and beyond.

The Gray Man Mantra: Live prepared but blend with the unprepared, hiding your strength in everyday routines to avoid becoming a target in a collapsing society.

John Wick Would Do This: Forge resilience in fortified compounds, training with global contacts to master survival arts, ready to dominate any crisis with lethal, untraceable precision.

---

Actionable Orders: Takeaway and Survival Plan

As Drifter’s financial collapse looms, these six practical steps empower you to survive any disaster. Act now to build resilience and redundancy, adapting to a new reality with determination and foresight.

1. Shift in Mindset: Learn to embrace a survivalist mindset, letting go of reliance on fragile systems like banks or supermarkets. Recognize that self-reliance is your shield so start viewing every day as a chance to prepare, not just react. Remember: Act don’t react. Educate yourself on economic signs of collapse, such as inflation spikes or supply shortages, using free resources like survival blogs or expert commentary on YouTube or Substack. Cultivate patience and discipline, accepting that preparation takes time but pays off when chaos hits. This mental pivot is your foundation, turning fear into proactive strength.

2. Secure Essentials: Stockpile a modest amount of cash or barterable goods at home, hidden in a plain site like behind a blank power point or a cereal box, unless you have high quality safe bolted through the house slab. Prioritise over digital dependence during bank runs. Diversify with items like batteries or hygiene products for trading, ensuring you’re ready when currency falters. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a packet of cigarettes. You’ll be surprises what power you may have if you need to barter with a smoker.

3. Eliminate Debt: Tackle high-interest debts, starting with the smallest balances, using extra income or savings. Avoid new loans or credit reliance, focusing on a debt-free life to free up resources for survival needs during a financial freeze. Negotiate with creditors if needed. Common sense stuff. You’ll be surprised with the results if you simply just pick up the phone and ask.

4. Prepare Redundancy: Assemble a go-bag (more details on this with another post) with basic essentials—food bars, a water filter, and a flashlight—for a quick 24–48 hour escape, stored in a car or near an exit. For bugging in, stock pantry goods like rice, beans, and canned proteins in unmarked containers, ensuring a buffer against supply disruptions for at least 6 to 12 months. Practice accessing these resources to build confidence.

5. Build a Support Network: Over the next 7 days, identify 2–3 trusted family members or friends, who will make up part of your alliance should shit hit the fan. The number one pre-requisite is that they must have the right mindset. The moment they doubt is the weak link in your armour. Form a tight-knit group for mutual aid, vetting members through shared tasks or drills, and avoid unreliable contacts to ensure a stable support system when isolation looms.

6. Adapt to Collapse: Conduct a 24-hour blackout drill at home with candles and a CB radio to simulate grid failure. Better still, do a grid down drill for 7 days and get a taste of it. Learn one practical skill such as first-aid, gardening, start a fire with wet wood, weapons training or hunting. Try using minimal supplies, and repurpose household items like tarps for shelter. Stay flexible, adjusting plans as conditions shift to outlast the storm.

   The Collapse Report will continue to track Drifter’s Flashpoints, break them down into Real World Analysis and issue Actionable Orders to prepare for the storm ahead. No financial advice given. Conduct your own research and don’t take stupid risks.

   Stay sharp. Stay sovereign.

   - The Collapse Report