I check Google Trends sometimes to see how interest in a subject changes over time. To see interest levels on strip clubs I searched the phrase "strip clubs near me". Searches dropped in 2020, most likely due to clubs being closed during the lockdowns. It went up in 2021 when they reopened but then from late 2021 started dropping. High inflation leading to cuts in discretionary spending, possibly. They continued a slow drift down after inflation dropped, though. Would that be the economy entering a recession or just a general loss of interest in visiting strip clubs as a hobby? Have your trips been dropping? Have the long time dancers made any comments about dropping business?
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last commentProbably a little bit of both. Young people are spending money on only fans and such instead of going out.
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Unless they are chaining trips to the VIP, strippers will always complain it is slow.
I only go during day shift. I can say my favorite has admitted she is dancing more and taking less vacations. I've generally noticed there are a few more dancers and a few less customers than "normal" when I go. But I've also seen what it looks like when the girls are thirsty, and I still only get sniffs of it end of the month when rent is due. I don't see a lot of girls leaving at 3 because it's so dead.
I suspect retired guys with a lot of their wealth in the stock market are doing just fine; the stock market is up. But it's not great for wage earners like the blue collar lunch guys. You see it on this board too; the older retired (or nearly) guys seem way more excited about this economy than the guys in the middle of their careers.
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Strip clubs aren't the same as they were 10 or even 5 years ago. The big change I've noticed is Cubans. Stripping seems to be an immigrant gig now. Clubs have a different vibe as a result, attract different people. Or fewer people.
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I still check out clubs pretty regularly on the weekends and yeah, I’ve definitely noticed a shift. Even on Friday and Saturday nights the crowd doesn’t feel as lively as it used to. A lot fewer mongers sitting at the rail which used to be prime territory. Now it just feels like people are hanging out, drinking, maybe watching the stage, but not actually spending much.
Dancers have definitely gotten more pushy too, way more aggressive with the upsells or trying to pull you into dances fast. It’s a pretty noticeable difference compared to visits from even just two years ago. Whether it’s the economy, people having less disposable income, or just a shift in interest, something’s definitely changed.
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@JamesSD
Agreed.
"I suspect retired guys with a lot of their wealth in the stock market are doing just fine; the stock market is up. But it's not great for wage earners like the blue collar lunch guys. You see it on this board too; the older retired (or nearly) guys seem way more excited about this economy than the guys in the middle of their careers."
The Reach Around Gang (RAG) "don't want to hear dat!"
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People are broke. Night life in general is dying. Clubs and bars are nothing like they used to be
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If I'm being honest, I find my own observations unreliable.
While I'm a frequent strip clubber, I'm not consistent in my visits. I'll go on different days of the week, different parts of the month, and different times of day. And I live in a highly seasonal area. Add to that that our clubs tend to vary over time, with the most popular/busiest club rotating around. All that combined makes it hard to make observations I can trust.
It's really hard to account for seasons. Last year I saw a major slowdown that came with the season, but it didn't really seem to recover nearly as much as Winter came and left and we're now back in the slowest of slow seasons. At the same time, I hit up a few clubs on the 31st and they were way busier than usual. It seemed mostly excess demand too, there was a bunch of dudes all over with standing room only at 3pm on a Thursday. It wasn't a gaggle of girls hogging all the tables. A week or two before, I went on a Saturday night around 10-11pm or so, and it was dead. Very few dancers or customers; just a bunch of waitresses and floor guys standing around looking bored. I've seen unexpected variations on those scenarios on other days in recent memory too.
I can't tell if its changed much overall but I will say it seems more volatile and less predictable on a day to day basis. I don't know if it's inflation/economic change or other dynamics in the market like increased availability of alternate goods or decreased interest in sex services in general that cause it.
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Things change. Horse racing used to have the most paid attendance numbers of any sport 75 years ago, now nobody goes. The peak of strip clubbing was 1995-2016. About 1/4 of the clubs and gone. The backbone of the industry was white guys over 30. They are dying off and being replaced by young men who live a solitary life in front of a computer screen and avoid face to face. They also don't have 40 years of savings to fall back on.
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Must....not....agree.....with....ski.....
Oh wait, this is a normal comment. I agree with the ski assessment.
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I agree with skibum’s comment
@jaybud999
I agree with skibum about as often as he agrees with me, but he’s actually a good guy IRL, and like myself knows how to have fun.
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