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Earlier in the year, the term “recession indicator” got a whole new chronically online meaning after people began using it as a meme. Ed Sheeran being called cool, Zooey Deschanel wearing a bumpit, and several Y2K outfits resurfacing were all dubbed recession indicators.
Of course, there are actual recession indicators, such as inflation and stock market decline. But one TikToker claims to have discovered a lesser-known one that most people wouldn’t think about. In a viral TikTok, a “spicy” club dancer realizes the U.S. must be in a recession after she noticed the lack of a certain party staple at her club.
“I feel like as a $-tripper,” TikToker Kodie Rose (@kodiirose) begins, using the censored version of the word, “one of the first places that you are ever going to notice a recession happening is in a spicy club.”
She explains how customers constantly used to ask her where they can “hit the slopes,” aka do cocaine. But she says she hasn’t been “asked that question in months.” According to Kodie, this is a telltale sign that the economy is in shambles.
“It just goes to tell me, they can’t afford this [expletive] anymore,” she continues. “I think we’re really in a recession.”
What’s The $ Tripper Index?
Kodie’s video, which earned over 1.5 million views, stirred a heated debate in her comments section. For many viewers, the term “hitting the slopes” had to be explained. However, others swore by the “stripper index,” calling it a viable measuring tool for the economy.
“I trust the $ tripper index,” one wrote. “We are definitely in a recession.” A second user echoed, “It’s called the $ tripper index, and is known to be more reliable than any economist or financial expert throughout history.”
Several others speculated a more likely reason why club patrons weren’t doing lines in the bathroom anymore.
“Everyone I know stopped bc scared of contamination,” a top comment read. While another said it wasn’t fun anymore because “nowadays if you hit the slopes your basically playing the Russian Roulette.”
A third user added, “They can afford it but it’s dangerous cuz you don’t know what’s in it anymore.”
@kodiirose it’s actually crazy lol #portland
The Danger Of Fentanyl
Kodie’s viewers were onto something. While it would be hard to confirm why people aren’t doing cocaine anymore, there is a very real risk of death associated with the party drug. In 2023, a report from UCLA revealed deaths from overdose due to fentanyl and stimulants had risen “50-fold.”
The research showed that by the year 2021, cocaine and meth were the “most common drug class” in overdoses caused by fentanyl. Cocaine laced with fentanyl is nearly impossible for a user to detect. This has led to so many deaths, and to a new practice where substance users are advised to carry Narcan with them at all times. Also known as naloxone, the antidote can reverse overdoses from opioids.
Fortunately, OPD reported in a 2025 article how deaths from fentanyl have plummeted. Nabarun Dasgupta, an addiction researcher at the University of North Carolina, told OPD that there is a “massive reduction in [fatal] overdose risk, among Gen Z in particular.”
BroBible reached out to Kodie via Instagram direct message for comment.