It started with one bad week in Chicago. Manny Hernandez, a breathwork coach, and Elena Soboleva decided the only reasonable response was to drive to Lake Michigan and scream into the water. People nearby heard them and joined in. Then they came back the next week. Then more people showed up.
That was the beginning of Scream Club.
The format is deliberate but minimal. You write down what's weighing on you on biodegradable paper, drop it in the water, and scream. No instructions, no moderation, no therapy-speak. Just permission to let out what you've been holding.
"Being able to have that with other people is more powerful," Hernandez told People Magazine. Soboleva added: "Strangers turn to each other, hugging and crying together. Especially with the state of the world, a lot of people need that release."
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Start Your News DetoxWhat's interesting is that this works precisely because it's not therapy. John Hueste, who leads the Washington D.C. chapter, put it plainly: "There's not really a way to just let out your anger or frustrations — even if it's personal. We have protests and demonstrations, but this is different."
Scream Club has spread to several U.S. cities, each running their own chapters. The lakeside gatherings in Chicago ran for 20 weeks before the founders pivoted to indoor winter sessions, still built around breathwork and the same core idea: a space where it's not just acceptable to fall apart in public, it's expected.
"It's such a taboo to scream, especially in public," Soboleva said. "For me personally, it's a form of liberation."
What makes this work isn't the screaming itself — you can do that alone into a pillow anytime. It's the witnessing. It's realizing the person next to you is also carrying something, and that the person next to them is too. It's the moment after, when strangers become a temporary community bound by the simple act of being honest about how hard it all feels.
If you're interested in joining or starting a chapter, there's a Scream Map online listing existing groups and a way to apply to lead a new one.
