The rules of Scream Club are simple: Show up and let it out.
It all started in Chicago when a couple, Manny Hernandez and Elena Soboleva, had a tough week. Hernandez, a coach and breathwork expert, suggested they let out their feelings. The pair headed to Lake Michigan, where they screamed into the abyss.
Then, people around them began to join in.
Now, they host a weekly meetup where people are invited to write down what’s bothering them (on biodegradable paper), drop it in the water, and scream to their hearts’ content.
Scream Club is now a movement, with several U.S. cities starting their own chapters. While people could scream into a pillow on their own, doing it together is what its founders believe is key.
“Being able to have that with other people is more powerful,” Hernandez told People Magazine.
“Strangers turn to each other, hugging and crying together, and that’s amazing to witness,” added Soboleva. “Especially with the state of the world, a lot of people need that release.”
Scream Club isn’t therapy, but it is therapeutic. And in the political upheaval of the past year, it seems to be just what people need.
“Obviously we have demonstrations and protests,” John Hueste, a co-leader of the D.C. chapter of Scream Club, told the Washington Post. “But there’s not really a way to just, like, let out your anger or frustrations or whatever it is for just anything, even if it’s personal.”
“It’s such a taboo to do something like that — to scream, especially in public,” Soboleva added. “For me personally, it’s a form of liberation.”
According to Sobovela and Hernandez, “season one” of Scream Club has come to a close after 20 weeks of lakeside gatherings. But the duo has begun hosting indoor experiences, teaching breathwork and still allowing a safe place for people to scream — even amid winter weather.
“This was never about the scream,” they wrote on Instagram as their first season wound down.
“It was about people — showing up, letting go, and realizing we’re all carrying something.”
Those interested in joining a Scream Club of their own can find existing chapters via an online “Scream Map” or apply to lead a new chapter.
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A version of this article was originally published in The 2026 Mental Health Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image by Edmond Dantès via Pexels
