Firewalking is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot embers or stones.

Firewalking has been practiced by many people and cultures in all parts of the world, with the earliest known reference dating back to Iron Age India – c. 1200 BC. It is often used as a rite of passage, as a test of an individual's strength and courage, or in religion as a test of one's faith. Firewalking became popular in the twentieth century when author Tolly Burkan began giving public classes throughout the United States and Europe in an effort to demonstrate that the practice was not paranormal.

Today, it is often used in corporate and team-building seminars and self-help workshops as a confidence-building exercise. Firewalking is frequently held to imply that the feat requires the aid of a supernatural force, strong faith, or on an individual's ability to focus on "mind over matter". Modern physics has attempted to explain the phenomenon by claiming that the amount of time the foot is in contact with the ground is not enough to induce a burn, combined with the fact that coal is not a very good conductor of heat.. These explanations have however been refuted: Emergency room physicians assert that shorter contact with less hot coal than is common in firewalking is sufficient to completely char skin. Furthermore, firewalkers have walked on red hot metal, which is an excellent conducter of heat. A currently unrefuted physical explanation is that under relaxed mental conditions, blood flowing through the feet can transport away the heat of the coal quickly enough to prevent burning. In this case, belief in a higher power or confidence in a theory is the factor inducing the necessary relaxation for the cooling process to function properly.

Michael Brant Shermer, PhD (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale, California, USA) is an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The Skeptics Society currently has over 55,000 members. Shermer also engages in debates on topics pertaining to pseudoscience and religion in which he promulgates the need for scientific skepticism.

Shermer is also the producer and co-host of the 13-hour Fox Family (now ABC Family) television series Exploring the Unknown. Since April 2001, he has been a monthly columnist for Scientific American magazine with his Skeptic column. Shermer states he was once a fundamentalist Christian, but converted from a belief in God during his graduate studies, and has described himself as an agnostic,nontheist,atheist and advocate for humanist philosophy as well as the science of morality. He has expressed reservations about such labels, however, as he sees them being used in the service of "pigeonholing", and prefers to simply be called a skeptic.

Anthony "Tony" Robbins (born February 29, 1960) is an American self-help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his infomercials and self-help books, Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement and Awaken The Giant Within. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. Robbins began his career learning from many different motivational speakers, and promoted seminars for his personal mentor, Jim Rohn. He is deeply influenced by neuro-linguistic programming and a variety of philosophies.

Robbins's work has been featured in major media including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Life, GQ, Vanity Fair, Business Week, Tycoon and Success magazines, the CBS Evening News, NBC News, ABC's Prime Time Live, Fox News, CNN and A&E as well as newspapers, radio programs, and Internet media worldwide. Robbins has been mentioned or featured in 15 major motion pictures, including a cameo role a romantic comedy film Shallow Hal, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. In 2007, he was named to Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100" list.