Community Corner

St. Pete Man Says 'Doomsday Castle' Saved His Life

Watch St. Pete resident Brenton Bruns II on 'Doomsday Castle', which premieres on NatGeo TV at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Brenton Bruns II needed help.

Living a party-filled and carefree lifestyle lead Bruns to a life of addiction to prescription pills and sleepless nights.

That was until he started preparing for the end of the world.

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In January Bruns, who runs the popular local Facebook page I Love Downtown St. Petersbrug, and the rest of his family were featured on the hit National Geographic TV show "Doomsday Preppers."

The episode centered on Bruns’ father and the castle he was building for Armageddon in the hills of South Carolina. He was preparing his children for the end times.

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Great ratings for the episode led NatGeo to create a spinoff show featuring the Bruns family called “Doomsday Castle.”

The new show premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m.

What Bruns’ father did not know is that even if "doomsday" did not happen, his castle still taught one of his own how to survive.

“To me it was like it was 'doomsday' rehab,’” Bruns II said. “I wanted to get out of this party lifestyle that I had.”

Like too many people in Florida, and in Pinellas County, Bruns became addicted to prescription pills three years ago.

Searching for a way out, he decided to do the episode with his father and the rest of the family.

“I wanted to do the show to help solve my addiction issues,” he said. “I wanted to get closer to my family and I did that.”

Filming the show, he said, saved his life in the nick of time.

“While I was up at the castle I’ve had two buddies die that I ran with that also had pain pill issues,” he said. “To me, that castle saved my life.”

Being able to teach others how to survive Armageddon is what Bruns said he had to tell his father to convince him to do the original "Doomsday Preppers" episode.

On the new series, Bruns said his family build a catapult, draw bridge, tree house, working on metal roofing and learn how to survive without modern amenities.

Completing the show, he said, is something he can be proud of.

“I have a great feeling of accomplishment, that I did it,” Bruns said. “And dammit I did it with the help of my brother and my sister and my dad.”

You can catch all eight episodes of "Doomsday Castle" on NatGeo on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m.

For more information about the show, visit nationalgeographic.com.


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