BUSINESS EDU
Life After Depth: An Interview with Liz Parkinson on Discovering Your Next Chapter by Gil Zeimer , ScubaStoryteller.com and Zeimer.com, San Rafael, CA
W HAT DO YOU DO FOR YOUR SECOND CAREER after working for years – or decades – in the scuba industry? What are some opportu- nities that are a natural transition? And what did one person do that far exceeded her lofty dreams? To find out, I reached out to Liz Parkinson. She’s the em- bodiment of how to evolve from one’s first career in the diving industry into something even better, all while continuing to embrace one’s love of the underwater world. Kenny Dyal of The Scuba Diving Channel on YouTube has even called her
especially for Shark Week on The Discovery Channel. There, I also obtained my dive instructor certification, and spent over 10 years as full-time Manager of Film and Underwater Pro- duction, and part-time shark wrangler.” Another Huge Career Transition: Hollywood Stuntperson: Liz’s life changed tremendously when James Cameron, Oscar- winning director of Titanic and Avatar , approached her because of her excellent reputation as a diver and a freediver. After meeting with him, she boldly reinvented herself as a stunt per- former to work on Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, which she calls her true introduction to Hollywood, and more
“The greatest underwater athlete in the world.” Ironically, she was also the Dive Instructor for both Cayman and Britain Cline, sons of Scuba Diving Industry Magazine’s William Cline, when they were kids. One Woman. Multiple Water-Related Careers: Born in South Africa, Liz started her “water” career as a high school competitive swimmer in England. She then excelled as a college swimmer at both the University of Hawaii and Florida State University. She even tried out for the 2004 Summer Olympics for Ireland, her Mother’s native country. When she moved back to Hawaii after college,
recently on Avatar: Fire and Ash. In fact, she and her team were Oscar-nominated for “Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture” for Avatar: The Way of Water. Since then, she worked on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , Fast & Furious 9 , the Thai Cave Rescue documentary, while conducting in- water safety, instruction, performances, and stunts for stars such as Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackson, and many more. On Diving Career Paths and Opportunities : From starting as a competitive swimmer to a
she worked at the Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki Beach as a diver, a dive instructor, and a Divemaster, all while selling free- diving, snorkeling, and diving packages to tourists during the day, while spending her evenings spearfishing with local Hawaiians at night. “That’s when I started developing freediving skills that would serve me well in the future––with breath holds of up to eight minutes––and as the eventual co-author of a PADI FreeDiver course,” Liz said. Next, she moved to the Caribbean as a divemaster on Provi- denciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands for 16 months. But when she relocated in 2007 as a Divemaster at Stuart’s Cove in Nassau, the Bahamas, she loved it so much that she spent 12 years there, amassing about 10,000 dives, which was about four dives per day. “Stuart Cove’s was renowned for its exceptional water clarity and shark species,” she added. “I was fortunate to work closely with Stephen Frink, Stuart Cove, and others as an underwater model on various photo shoots, movies, and documentaries,
dive instructor, to working in film and photography as a model/actor, and now as a stuntwoman, Liz’s career has been blessed with being in the right place, at the right time, with the right experience, and the right connections due to her growing global reputation. She concluded, “Never be afraid to try something new. It may be successful at first, or it may become a learning ex- perience, but it very well may take your career in a new di- rection as you find an outlet that aligns with your personal interests and lifestyle.” Now, besides diving with sharks, she’s become a shark con- servationist through her involvement with nonprofits like Shark Angels. She recommends that a background in Marine Science or Conservation could be another viable path for those interested in ocean-related work.
If you want to brainstorm about your next career, or to sign up for Writers’ Workshops, please contact me today: gil@zeimer.com.
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