An Inspired Chat with Szilvia Gogh of South Bay

Szilvia Gogh shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Szilvia, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I spent decades chasing the next achievement—the next dive certification, the next Hollywood stunt, the next country to explore. I thought if I could just accomplish enough, I’d finally feel complete. The irony is that I achieved extraordinary things: I became a PADI Course Director, worked on 27 Hollywood productions including Avatar, traveled to 57 countries, got inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. But the chase never stopped. There was always another goal, another summit to reach.

What I discovered—and what I write about in “Diving Into Dreams”—is that the real transformation didn’t come from achieving more. It came from learning to pause and recognize I already had enough. Not in a “settle for mediocrity” way, but in understanding that contentment isn’t waiting at the finish line of some future accomplishment. It’s available right now, in the life you’ve already built.

If I had stopped chasing sooner, I wouldn’t have missed so many moments of appreciation along the way. But here’s the beautiful paradox: extraordinary things do happen when you work hard and push yourself. The shift is in why you’re doing it—not to fill a void or prove your worth, but because you’re already whole and you’re curious about what you’re capable of.

That’s the journey my memoir explores—from communist Hungary to the depths of Hollywood’s biggest productions, and finally to the deepest discovery of all: learning to have enough.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Szilvia Gogh, and I’ve lived what feels like several lifetimes in one. I escaped communist Hungary as a child, became one of Hollywood’s go-to underwater stunt performers—working on 27 productions including Avatar, where I was the safety diver for Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver—and built a career as a PADI Course Director training everyone from recreational divers to LAPD dive teams. Along the way, I’ve explored 57 countries and was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

But the most profound dive I ever took wasn’t in the ocean—it was inward.

My memoir, “Diving Into Dreams: Navigating Life’s Deepest Waters to Discover the Secret of Having Enough,” tells the story of how relentless achievement-chasing eventually taught me that extraordinary things happen through hard work and perseverance, but true fulfillment comes from learning to appreciate what you already have.

I also run GoghJewelryDesign.com, where I create mindfulness jewelry from stones I’ve collected at dive sites around the world. Each piece carries the energy of those underwater moments—a tangible reminder to pause and appreciate the present.

What makes my story unique is this: I’m not telling you to dream smaller. I’m showing you how to chase big dreams while discovering you’re already enough, right now. That’s a message I think we all need to hear.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that believed my worth was measured by the next accomplishment.

For decades, I was a relentless achiever. Every certification, every stunt, every country visited was proof that I mattered—that I’d escaped the limitations of my communist Hungarian childhood and built something extraordinary. And I did build something extraordinary. But I was also running from a deeper fear: that if I stopped achieving, I’d disappear. That I’d be nothing. Not enough…

That version of me served a crucial purpose. She got me out of Hungary. She pushed me to become one of the few women in Hollywood underwater stunts. She earned me a place in the Women Divers Hall of Fame. She was fierce, unstoppable, and she saved my life in many ways.

But she also exhausted me. She kept me constantly looking ahead, never able to rest in what I’d already created. She made contentment feel like failure.

Writing “Diving Into Dreams” was, in many ways, my farewell to her. Not with regret—with gratitude. She carried me to safety. But now I know that my value isn’t in what I achieve next. It’s in who I already am.

The hardest part of releasing her? Trusting that I won’t lose my edge, my drive, my passion. But what I’m discovering is that when you stop chasing to prove yourself, you start creating from a place of genuine curiosity and joy. That’s a different kind of power entirely.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. And ironically, it wasn’t during any of the dramatic moments you’d expect—not escaping Hungary, not during dangerous Hollywood stunts, not even during the most challenging dives.

I almost gave up when I had everything I thought I wanted.

I’d built this incredible life: Hollywood credits, Hall of Fame recognition, a successful business, adventures across 57 countries. From the outside, I was living the dream. But inside, I felt hollow. Exhausted. Like I was running on a treadmill that never stopped, and I couldn’t remember why I’d gotten on it in the first place.

The achievement addiction had caught up with me. Every goal I reached just revealed another one beyond it. I started thinking, “If this isn’t enough—after everything I’ve accomplished—then what is? Maybe nothing will ever be enough. Maybe I’m broken.”

That’s when I came closest to giving up—not on a specific goal, but on the belief that life could feel different. That I could ever feel satisfied, content, at peace.

What saved me wasn’t achieving more. It was finally asking a different question: “What if I already have enough?”
That question became the turning point I write about in “Diving Into Dreams.” It led me on the most important journey of my life—from relentless striving to genuine contentment. Not by accomplishing less, but by fundamentally changing why I was doing anything at all.

Sometimes the hardest thing to give up on is the chase itself. But that’s exactly what sets you free.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes—and that’s actually been one of my biggest revelations.

For years, I thought I had to choose: be the badass Hollywood stunt performer and fearless adventurer, or be the person who admits she struggled with burnout and the endless chase for “enough.” I worried that showing vulnerability would undermine the strength, that talking about contentment would somehow diminish the achievements.

But what I’ve discovered—and what I share openly in “Diving Into Dreams”—is that the real me contains all of it. The woman who spent years in the water with Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver for Avatar is the same woman who had to learn that her worth wasn’t tied to her next accomplishment. The PADI Course Director who’s pushed through fear in 57 countries is the same person who finally learned to pause and appreciate what she’d already built.

There’s no performance, no persona. The grit is real. The transformation is real. The hard-won wisdom about “having enough” didn’t come from slowing down or accomplishing less—it came from going to the edge and discovering something deeper on the other side.

If anything, being public about the whole journey—the highs AND the reckoning—feels more authentic than only showing the highlight reel ever did. Because the truth is, extraordinary things do happen through hard work and perseverance. But the most extraordinary thing that ever happened to me was learning I was already enough.

That’s not a version of me. That’s just me.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
In the water.

There’s something about being underwater that strips away everything else. No phone, no to-do list, no voice in my head telling me what I should accomplish next. Just breath, buoyancy, and the present moment.

I’ve done some of the most intense work of my life underwater—safety diving for A-list actors, executing complex Hollywood stunts, training elite dive teams. But even in those high-pressure moments, there’s a stillness that exists nowhere else. Underwater, you can’t rush. You can’t force. You have to trust your training, conserve your energy, and work with the environment instead of against it.

It’s where I’ve collected stones for my jewelry at dive sites around the world—each one a physical reminder of that peace, that presence. And it’s no accident that my memoir is called “Diving Into Dreams.” The ocean taught me everything I needed to know about finding enough.

Above water, I spent decades chasing the next thing. Below the surface, there’s only now. The irony is that I had to dive thousands of times, travel to 57 countries, and work on 27 Hollywood productions before I understood what the water was trying to teach me all along: Peace isn’t something you achieve. It’s something you allow yourself to feel, right where you are.

That lesson changed everything. And it’s still the ocean that reminds me, every single time I descend.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://szilviagogh.com/
• Instagram: @goghjewelrydesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/szilvia-gogh-a9767b5/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/szilviagogh