Steve Consalvez
The Legacy of Firewalking & Personal Empowerment
Steve Consalvez is a name forever linked with Firewalking. As the former President of the Global Firewalk Association, he has spent over 30 years promoting this unique form of personal empowerment and development.
While his public persona has taken him across the globe, igniting fires and unlocking the potential of countless attendees, Steve’s journey with this powerful metaphor for personal growth began much earlier, in the world of therapy—particularly hypnotherapy.
Early Beginnings:
Steve’s journey started in the late 1980s, driven by a fascination with the power of the mind. His path was set in motion after attending a stage hypnosis show in Manchester, hosted by the brilliant Andrew Newton. What he saw that evening was more than a performance—it was a profound demonstration of the connection between the mind and the body. While his friends didn’t notice, Steve immediately recognised that the mind had the ability to control the body’s processes, and this revelation sparked a five-year obsession with learning more about the mind’s potential.
From that moment on, Steve devoured books on the subconscious mind and personal development. His first book, Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr Maxwell Maltz, laid the foundation, offering case studies that showed how the mind could improve everyday life by practising personal development. Steve applied what he learned, seeing impressive results and becoming hooked on the possibilities of mental and physical transformation.
Formal Training:
In 1992, after completing a comprehensive course in hypnotherapy at Regents College in London, Steve began practising professionally. He quickly earned a reputation as the man who could fix what others couldn’t, attracting the most difficult patients—those with phobias, anxiety, and even food intolerances. It was during this time that Steve became fascinated with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), realising that the internal world—our thoughts, beliefs, and representations—shapes our actions, behaviours, and emotions. This insight led him to understand that the results people achieved in life were directly linked to their internal experiences, whether positive or negative.
In 1993, Steve had the opportunity to work with one of the creators of NLP, Dr Richard Bandler. This experience cemented his understanding that working directly with the originators of a discipline allowed for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of their techniques and beliefs.
Discovering Milton Erickson’s Legacy:
After qualifying as a hypnotherapist and psychotherapist and practising for five years, Steve’s thirst for knowledge led him to explore the work of Milton Erickson, the father of modern hypnotherapy. Erickson’s revolutionary approach to hypnosis—using indirect suggestion, metaphor, and the client’s own resources—shifted how Steve viewed the practice.
Steve travelled to Los Osos, California, to meet with Ernest and Kathryn Rossi, long-time collaborators of Erickson, and the experience was transformative. In their warm and insightful company, Steve gained a deeper understanding of Erickson’s holistic approach to hypnosis. He realised that, like Erickson, the power of the subconscious lies in the stories we tell ourselves about our experiences. These stories, and the meanings we attach to them, leave a lasting blueprint on our behaviours. Meeting the Rossis was like stepping into the heart of living legends, and Steve’s collection of their works—spanning several volumes—remains a testament to their lasting influence on his own practice.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Subconscious:
Steve’s journey was not simply about accumulating knowledge but about testing everything he learned. He realised that our internal representations—the narratives we create about ourselves—have immense power over our actions and outcomes in life. This realisation brought him back to firewalking, recognising it as a powerful metaphor for what is possible when we confront our internal barriers.
As Steve’s career evolved, he sought out mentorship from the world’s foremost firewalking experts. He had already worked with Tony Robbins, encouraging him to bring firewalking to the UK, and by this point, he had run several firewalks of his own, even gaining media attention. After more than 30 years in the field, Steve now incorporates all of his therapeutic knowledge—from hypnotherapy to firewalking and beyond—into his work, guiding others on their personal growth journeys.
Steve has trained over 400 instructors to become certified Firewalk instructors across more than 30 countries since 2009. The feedback he receives from these instructors—stories of profound transformation and success—continues to inspire him. Even though he is often known as the “Firewalking guy,” Steve integrates all the therapies and techniques he’s learned into his presentations, applying them in his own life to continue evolving.
The Power of Personal Growth:
Steve firmly believes that life is a continuous journey of personal development. He doesn’t see himself as “finished,” but rather as someone who is always evolving, just like the thousands of people he has helped along the way. From his own personal struggles to his career in firewalking and therapy, Steve has learned to face the challenges life throws at him and uses them as opportunities for growth. His upbringing—marked by poverty and hardship—taught him the importance of not accepting life as it is but striving to transform it. Through knowledge, practice, and self-discovery, he has become a living example of what is possible.
Now, as he trains new Firewalk instructors and watches coaches, mentors, and soul-searchers undertake the five-day training, Steve reflects on his own first experience with firewalking. His mentor, Tolly Burkan, used to say that the firewalk course was “the most empowering course on the planet,” and after training over 400 people, Steve wholeheartedly believes in that statement.
Firewalking is not just about walking on hot coals; it’s about facing fears, breaking through mental and emotional barriers, and realising that…
…anything is possible when we choose to face our challenges head-on.
Main – Photo by Igor Haritanovich
