Dylan Efron Loves A Hobby

Nearly two years after winning The Traitors Season 3 alongside three fellow Faithfuls, Dylan Efron has a word of advice for those entering the show’s first civilian season. His tip? Don’t get stubborn and rely on confirmation bias: “You can have good gut instincts — but you also need to be able to believe other people’s gut instincts,” he tells Bustle over Zoom.

Granted, Efron’s intuition has brought him pretty far. After parlaying his reality stardom into an impressive run on Dancing With the Stars Season 34, he premiered his own YouTube competition show, aptly titled Everything’s a Competition, alongside Traitors castmate “Boston Rob” Mariano. His Instagram is a testament to a series of outdoor adventures so breathtaking you’d be jealous — if he wasn’t incredibly easy to root for.

Most recently, those adventures have included trips to Newfoundland and Norway to explore some of the places that supply ingredients for Garden of Life, the supplement company he’s partnering with to launch its new Clear Whey Protein. (He mixes it into cold water after workouts and between meals.) Given his love for the outdoors, it’s no surprise that the Norwegian concept of “friluftsliv,” or open-air life, resonated with Efron.

“I really felt it there,” the 34-year-old says. “You can be right around these huge buildings, and then you see this staircase that goes up to the top of a mountain, and there’s gorgeous greenery — you can really tell that they have a good work-life balance of city and nature.”

While his travel plans and reality TV resume ring larger than life, Efron’s down-to-earth affability is what makes him so fun to watch. “If I’m home, I’m probably trying to figure out if there’s waves to surf, or if I can go to the gym,” he says. “I’m normally trying to think of my next thing.”

Among those next things? Efron brainstorms ideas for new reality shows in his Notes app — he’s also keen to re-team with Boston Rob on a new project — and he dreams of acting, maybe in an adaptation of the fantasy and romantasy books he loves. (Keep reading for his favorites.) “It was another thing, like dancing, that I said I would never do,” he says. “As I have gotten older and more confident in being on camera, I think what I love more than anything in life is fully dedicating myself to something.”

In the meantime, Efron opens up about Internet rabbit holes, book recs, and his high-stakes hobby that will give you sweaty palms.

The Fast Follow With Dylan Efron

What’s the weirdest Internet rabbit hole that you’ve gone down?

I was just learning about Pangaea. I must have been sick from school when they were teaching that, because my mind was blown! I’m like, “Wait, all the continents were together, then they split off...” I probably spent an hour and a half watching old guys talk about the beginning of the Earth.

Given Everything’s a Competition, is there a skill that you’re confident you could beat anyone at?

The thing I was best at was triathlon. I was really good at track. Like, could I beat anyone right now in a triathlon? No, but I could probably beat every person in reality [TV].

What’s a topic that you could give a PowerPoint presentation on at a moment’s notice?

I’m pretty good with nutrition. That’s why I was excited about the Garden of Life partnership; it’s something I’ve been passionate about since high school. Nineties or early 2000s baseball and workouts — yeah, probably those three topics.

What’s a TV show or movie that you can’t stop trying to get people to watch?

Recently, I really liked MobLand. I’m watching Your Friends & Neighbors. Severance, for the people that haven’t watched it — it’s crazy, because it’s so good! Honestly, for me, it’s audiobooks: I’m telling everyone to read Dungeon Crawler Carl and Will of Many.

What’s the weirdest or most surprising hobby that you’ve ever picked up?

God, I love hobbies. The most niche is highlining because not many people do it. It’s when you walk on a slack line in between two mountains, like walking a tight rope in nature.

That’s so scary! Are you attached to it — like if you fell, would you be OK?

You fall about 10 to 15 feet, and then have to climb back on the rope. It’s hard to learn because you have to learn how to fall. Like, I kept crushing parts that I don’t want to be crushed.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.