The Scream Club: Chicago's loudest way to let go 

The Scream Club: Chicago's Loudest way to let go

When life gets heavy --- they head to the Lakefront... Not for peace and quiet, but to let it all out.

CHICAGO - In a unique effort to release stress, Chicagoans are gathering on Sunday evenings — to scream into Lake Michigan!

The Scream Club was launched earlier this summer and is quickly gaining traction as more people look for an outlet to let go.

What we know:

When life gets heavy, members of The Scream Club head to the lakefront — not for peace and quiet but to let it all out.

The weekly meetup, held on the North Avenue Beach Pier, was formed this summer by local breathwork practitioner, Manny Hernandez. 

It began as a personal ritual over the winter, alongside co-founder Elena Soboleva, that was soon shared with strangers.

The powerful practice of screaming away the stress is gaining attention and support. The very first meetup was held on Sunday, June 22, and each week, larger crowds have formed to participate. 

Sunday's Scream Club saw its largest turnout yet — with more than 100 people lining up along the pier to take part. 

"I think that we do such a good job at suppressing all the things that are going on in our lives and we never have a safe outlet to do so. If you think about one person trying to do this over here by themselves, screaming, somebody would look at them like, 'you're nuts,' so we're giving people a safe space to be able to do that," Hernandez said. 

Before participants let out several collective screams that are guided by Hernandez, they can choose to set an intention. 

"We wanted to make this very intentional. So what we do, we give people little biodegradable papers, where they write down their intentions of what they want to let go of. They write it down, and then Manny walks them through a breath to prepare the body, prepare the mind for release. They throw the paper in the water, and we do the screams," Soboleva explained.

Hernandez and Soboleva have discovered that the club is becoming a community, with participants—young and old—bonding over shared experiences and struggles. 

What's next:

The Scream Club meets every Sunday at 7 p.m. on the North Avenue Beach Pier. It is completely free to attend and there is no sign-up required.

The founders have seen such strong interest, it's sparked demand for chapters in other cities.

Learn more by clicking HERE.