About Fire In Your Face
Fire In Your Face is a UK-based fire manipulation school founded by Tom Makinson, offering group workshops, private tuition, an online academy, and professionally designed fire manipulation equipment.
The goal has always been the same: make fire manipulation genuinely accessible, taught properly, with the science to back it up.
Who Is Tom Makinson?
Tom is the founder and lead instructor at Fire In Your Face. Based in Derbyshire, he has been fascinated by circus skills since childhood, juggling at seven and doing his first fire performance at twelve.
Over the years that followed, he developed a deep understanding of the physics behind fire manipulation: not just how to do it, but why it works. That distinction matters. It is what separates a performer who understands their craft from one who has simply learnt to tolerate the heat.
To date, Tom has taught over 1,000 students in person, from complete beginners to experienced performers. He has also worked professionally in the industry, most notably as performer and fire safety consultant on a televised regional advertising campaign for PostFinance, one of Switzerland’s largest financial institutions, which aired on TV and appeared on billboards across Switzerland.
The Approach
Fire eating has a mysticism problem.
The idea that it requires special gifts, unusual pain tolerance, or some kind of natural immunity to heat is everywhere, and it is wrong. Fire eating works because of chemistry and physics (and, if we are being honest, a little bit of psychology). Overcoming the instinct to fear fire is a real part of the process, and it is something every student works through. None of this is mysterious. All of it can be taught.
At FIYF, everything is explained. Students do not just learn what to do; they understand why it works, which means they can troubleshoot, adapt, and progress far faster than someone following instructions by rote. It also means they are safer, because they are working with the physics, not despite it.
If you have ever assumed fire manipulation was not for someone like you, you have probably just never had it explained properly.
What Fire In Your Face Offers
Full-day, hands-on sessions held across the UK. Suitable for absolute beginners through to seasoned performers.
One-to-one tuition in Derbyshire, built entirely around your goals and current level.
Online video courses covering the full spectrum of fire manipulation, from your first extinguish to advanced fire manipulation. Learn at your own pace, from anywhere.
Professionally designed hollow torches built specifically for fire manipulation performance.