Self-help guru Tony Robbins hosted a 4-day event in San Jose Thursday that went terribly wrong for 21 participants who were burned after walking over hot coals.
A crowd of 6,000 turned out to take part in the “Unleash the Power Within” conference at the San Jose Convention Center.
The much-touted firewalk, featuring 12 lanes of hot coals, took place in a parking lot adjacent to the building, where attendees were given the opportunity to walk across 10 feet of hot coals that are superheated to temperatures reaching 1,200 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Injuries ranged from raised blisters to second and third-degree burns. Three people were transported to an area hospital for treatment.
One bystander described the scene as horrific, “I heard wails of pain, screams of agony. It was people seriously hurting, like they were being tortured. First one person, then a couple minutes late another one, and there was just a line of people walking on that fire. It was just bizarre, man.”
The scene is one that has played out successfully for years with Tony Robbins leading the charge. Even Oprah and her BFF Gayle King have previously taken part in the firewalk experience for a recent ‘Next Chapter’ episode on OWN.
SJFD Captain Reggie Williams confirmed that all of the proper permits had been secured before stating the obvious, “We discourage people from walking over hot coals.”
Check out how Robbins gets ready for his ‘Unleash the Power Within’ events on the clip below:
Photo Credit: Video Screen Grabs