diff --git a/foreman/start-hydra.sh b/foreman/start-hydra.sh
index 66773f81..4e348266 100755
--- a/foreman/start-hydra.sh
+++ b/foreman/start-hydra.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ while ! pg_isready -h $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres -p 64444; do sleep 1; done
 
 createdb -h $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres -p 64444 hydra
 
+# create a db for the default user. Not sure why, but
+# the terminal is otherwise spammed with:
+#
+#     FATAL:  database "USERNAME" does not exist
+createdb -h $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres -p 64444 "$(whoami)" || true
+
 hydra-init
 hydra-create-user alice --password foobar --role admin