A bizarre new trend has swept across social media in recent months, clogging TikTok and Instagram with time-lapse videos depicting the construction of secret underground bunkers.
These clips are generated by artificial intelligence and often feature physically impossible bunker designs.
In some cases, these imaginary spaces are carved out of tree trunks. In others, they’re made out of impossibly large pieces of fruit. One clip features a man carving a secret room in a giant (as in, the size of a van) papaya. Most often, they feature shipping containers buried to create backyard bunkers.
The trend seems to stem in part from a particular YouTube account: Home Magic, which has garnered nearly 400,000 subscribers and a stunning 431 million views since launching in January this year.
The channel started out riding another trend: AI-generated videos of elaborate epoxy-sealed floors. But the anonymous creator’s content quickly switched to bunker videos starting around February. Home Magic did not respond to a request for comment.
Another channel, Calm Creations, also began posting bunker videos in February, and quickly evolved to focus on the buried or underwater shipping containers that have become a mainstay of the genre.
Each of the clips features a sped-up timeline of (usually) a man in workwear using power tools to build a bunker. The dimensions of the external space—often a shipping container—don’t quite match up with the expansive dimensions of the internal space.
“The popularity of AI-generated bunker videos taps into a mix of escapism and also genuine anxiety for some,” says Robin Edwards, a property buying agent at Curetons Property Finders in London. “People are fascinated by the idea of self-sufficient underground homes because they combine luxury, survival, and futuristic design in a way that’s visually appealing.
“AI has definitely amplified that interest by turning what was once a niche concept into something people can easily imagine, create, and aspire to, even if often it’s more fantasy than reality,” he adds.
Ron Hubbard, CEO of Atlas Survival Shelters, agrees. He believes that people are fascinated by these videos because they equate bunkers with “elite,” aspirational lifestyles.
Hubbard has worked on bunkers for Kim Kardashian, Mark Zuckerberg, and Mr. Beast, among others, and says they’ve become something of a status symbol for the ultrawealthy.
“Having a bunker now is like the new Rolex or having a new Ferrari in the garage,” he says.
Plus, they can be built out with all the amenities.
“There’s a big movie theater with a shooting range, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a pool table. That’s what the modern bunkers of today look like. They’re usable spaces. So the people don’t feel like they’re wasting money on a bunker they hope they never need, but are actually building out an area into a fun man cave or fun room.”
Bunkers are increasingly popular in disaster-stricken areas
Whether sitting in a fortified concrete space sounds like “fun” may be a matter of opinion, but Hubbard says they’re increasingly practical in a world where natural and human-made disasters continue apace.
Earlier this year, he happened to be visiting Dubai just days before Iranian missiles struck the area. After the attacks, interest in building bunkers and bomb shelters in the region skyrocketed. And in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Poland and Turkey recently passed legislation requiring new construction to include bomb shelter provisions.
“Bomb shelters are kind of like an umbrella,” he says. “You only think about them when it starts to rain”—or in the case of Dubai, “when missiles start falling.”
Edwards says he’s still not seeing a ton of demand for them among London elites, but says “for some of my more high-profile and politically connected clients, they are certainly useful and desirable to have.
“While most of my buyers have no intention of hopefully ever having to live in a bunker, I am seeing a growing curiosity around more resilient homes with features like backup power sources, secure storage, and off-grid capabilities.”
Bunkers for everyone?
Hubbard hopes the desire for bunkers begins to trickle down to the average homebuyer. He’s now selling a kit to help property developers install “safe rooms” in new-construction homes and has seen them installed in more than 700 homes.
“A bunker could just be one bedroom, but the walls could be 12 inches of solid-lined concrete with a roof overhead,” he says. He acknowledges it may seem like overkill now, but insists that such rooms could be standard on all new homes soon enough.
“Just imagine,” he adds, “a hundred years ago, there weren’t bathrooms in houses, and someone got the idea to put a toilet in the house.”
