Dozens burned by walk on hot coals at ‘motivational’ event
DOZENS of followers of a US motivational speaker were treated for burns when he urged them to walk along 20ft of hot coals.
“Overcome the unconscious fears that are holding you back,” Tony Robbins’s site proclaims. “Storm across a bed of hot coals.”
But it did not go quite so well for 30 of the people who tried at his seminar in Dallas. Five were taken to hospital with the rest treated on site.
The hot coals were spread outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre for four-day talks called Unleash the Power Within.
Paul Gold of West Palm Beach, Florida, said he suffered second-degree burns on both feet that will take about two weeks to heal.
It was his second walk, after a “very good experience” at a Robbins seminar in Florida, but this time it appeared staff had not let coals cool enough before adding to the 4ft-wide pile.
He knew halfway through he had suffered burns: “In hindsight, jumping off would have been a fantastic idea. But when you’re in the spirit of the moment, you’re kinda focused on one task.”
Mr Gold, 44, said later it felt like someone had “taken a hot iron and pressed it against my feet.” He said he saw a girl crying and others complaining of burns.
“I’m not even sure I could do it again, because now I have this massive fear of fire,” he said although he still believes Mr Robbins helps a lot of people and that it was aides who “weren’t following directions”.
Representatives for Mr Robbins said 7,000 people walked on Thursday night and only five “requested any examination beyond what was readily available”, adding: “Someone not familiar with the fire walk observed the event and called 911 erroneously reporting hundreds of people requiring medical attention for severe burns.”
Jacqueline Luxemberg, another walker, said some participants were not concentrating but were taking selfies and asking others to film them.
Tickets for Mr Robbins’s Unleash the Power Within events range from $650 (£475) to $2,995 (£2,189) and his website features endorsements from stars such as Hugh Jackman, the actor. The seminar aims to “help you unlock and unleash the forces inside that can help you break through any limit and create the quality of life you desire”.
Mr Robbins, who has written a self-help bestseller, is said to have earned $30million (£21.9m) last year.