Twin Cities scream club builds community through relieving stress

“Are you here to scream?” Hollie Carr asked people who strolled by her Sunday night as the sun began to set near the Cedar Nichols Trailhead in Burnsville.

Carr founded Scream Club Twin Cities MN in early August. The group travels to different lakes, rivers and streams every week to scream across the water. And they’re always looking for new participants.

“Screaming is inclusive of everyone,” Carr said. “It doesn’t matter what your issues are or what your stress is. Our goal is to scream in community.”

The club meets on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. and performs some deep-breathing exercises before they scream three to five times in group shouts. Carr tries to warn boaters and anglers prior to the shrieks.

The group started on Aug. 3 with two screamers. After one of the club’s initial TikTok videos received more than 30,000 views, the club had more than 40 participants in its second week. Sixteen showed — including a handful of repeat screamers — for the third event on Sunday.

Cedar Dawson, 39, said they felt the relief of screaming build after every yell.

“It was a release I had been searching for,” they said. “Each one was better than the last. There’s a little bit of apprehension and awkwardness in that first one that just the more we did it, I felt what this could feel like.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever yelled, not like that,” the 25-year-old said. “It was the first time in my entire life I had that experience.”

Both Dawson and Neves said they would attend future meetings of the scream club and might even bring some friends or family.

Participants for the screams range from ages 4 to 74. Some come with ear protection, and others bring baked goods for the group.

It is scientifically proven that screaming is beneficial to people’s mental health, said Dr. Ziad Nahas, executive vice chair and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. It’s especially healthy since people tend to breathe deeply before yelling, he said.

“A deep breath can help you relax,” Nahas said. “Undoubtedly, that immediate effect of the breath, slowing down the heart rate, focusing on something different, all of those play into feeling relaxed.”

Carr said she started the group after seeing a Scream Club Chicago TikTok. Because Minnesota has so many lakes, Carr said she hopes the club can travel.

“When we scream at the water, it feels like we’re offering our emotions to something bigger than ourselves, letting the water carry them away,” she said. “The reflection of sound off the water also gives a sense of being heard and echoed back.”

The scream club is one of many groups popping up in the Twin Cities specifically focused on bringing people together for outdoor weekend activities. Isabelle Olson started The Sunday Morning Club in May, an organization based on bringing women together to walk. The club averages 75 to 100 participants.

“I‘m seeing new faces every walk we do, and I’m seeing familiar faces,” Olson said. “It’s been such a good way to meet new people.”

North Loop Girls Who Walk, another group focused on walking, started in 2024. Founder Skye Shrader said groups like these help build relationships, especially for people who are new to Minnesota.

Carr, who is a personal trainer and yoga instructor, said one of the reasons she started the screaming club was to serve as a stress reliever. She said women, especially from her Gen X cohort, have historically been told to be smaller or quieter, something she thinks is not good for people.

“It’s an outlet for releasing pent-up emotions and a healthy alternative to bottling things up, if you’re doing it in a safe environment,” she said. “That is shared humanity.”

Carr said the club is about “emotional release, nervous system regulation, and connection.”

John Osborn, a professor at the U’s Medical School who studies the nervous system, said there are added benefits to building a community around screaming instead of doing it alone.

“When people come together — like singing in a choir — in a group or in community, there’s a lot of beneficial mental health aspects to that,” he said. “Getting together with a group, all screaming together, probably does the same thing.”

As the scream group grows, Carr hopes to make the hollering sessions year-round since Minnesotans aren’t afraid to don winter gear.