Walking across hot coals is a regular feature of motivational speaker Tony Robbins’s seminars. The act is meant to symbolize overcoming fear.



But at his “Unleash the Power Within” event in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, more than 30 people were treated for burns due to the walk. Five were taken to the hospital that night, while the rest were treated on site for burns, said Jason Evans, a public information officer with Dallas Fire-Rescue, in a statement.

Dallas Fire-Rescue was dispatched to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center on Thursday night just after 11pm, according to Evans.

Paul Gold, who sustained second-degree burns on his feet, told the Associated Press that he thought event staff didn’t wait long enough before adding more coals to the fire, resulting in the injuries.

Gold said he had participated in the walk at a previous Robbins event in Florida earlier this year and was unharmed.

Another attendee, Jacqueline Luxemberg, said the injuries occurred because people were taking selfies rather than concentrating on the walk.

“It has nothing to do with the training. It has absolutely nothing to do with Tony Robbins,” she said.

This isn’t the first time injuries occurred at a Robbins event. Nearly two dozen were burnt walking across hot coals in San Jose, California, in 2012.

Ron King, the director of the convention center, told the Dallas Morning News that Robbins had previously led events there with no incidents that he was aware of.

The organizers had the necessary permits “to conduct the operation which led to the multiple burn injuries overnight,” Evans said.

Minor blisters sometimes occur after the walk, but not serious burns, said Tad Schinke, who has worked at numerous Robbins events, to the Morning News. Participants received instructions before the walk.

Representatives for Robbins said in a statement to the Associated Press that about 7,000 people walked across the coals that night. Of those injured, five “requested any examination beyond what was readily available on site”.



“Someone not familiar with the fire walk observed the event and called 911 erroneously reporting hundreds of people requiring medical attention for severe burns,” the statement said.

Tickets to Robbins’s next “Unleash the Power Within” event in San Jose this November range in price from $650 to $2,995 a ticket, according to his website. 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.”

In addition to his multiple seminars, Robbins has written a New York Times bestseller and has his own charity in addition to other business ventures.

His website features celebrity endorsements from actors Hugh Jackman and Maria Menounous, television producer Mark Burnett, and singer Melissa Etheridge.