Dylan Efron is still reveling after successfully completing his first week on “Dancing With the Stars.”
The “Traitors” winner and online personality is a contestant on Season 34, partnered with pro Daniella Karagach. The duo has been rehearsing for weeks and impressed the judges and viewers performing a cha cha to “Milkshake” by Kelis during the premiere episode. They scored a 10 out of 20.
“I feel happy about the first week. I think I did what I set out there to do, which was really conquer my fear of performing,” he tells TODAY.com during an interview for his Samsung campaign. “Now, I’m really just focusing on Week 2 and trying to prove I belong there and that I can actually become a ballroom dancer.”
For their second performance on “One-Hit Wonder Night,” Efron and Karagach will take on the samba to “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)” by Los del Río.
One look at his Instagram, and there’s no denying Efron is already in top shape and focuses on his health. However, as he tells TODAY.com, “DWTS” is a game-changer when it comes to his workout routine, which has drastically changed.
“Going into the show, I knew that rehearsal was four hours long, and I knew that would be a big-time commitment,” Efron says. “But I think I underestimated how beat up my body would feel after that, especially because Danny’s very similar to me, and we really are giving it our all.”
Below, Efron shares how he is preparing for his upcoming routine and how his outlook on his fitness and health has changed since joining the “DWTS” cast.
Who Was the First Person You Texted or Called After Your First ‘DWTS’ Performance?
The first person I called was my mom because she was in the stands, but she didn’t know that she could see me after the show. I was expecting to see her, and then she wasn’t there. So I just called her to say, thank you for coming. And that was after I saw my dad, and my little brother and sister.
Can You Walk Us Through Your Workout Routine? How Has It Changed Being on ‘DWTS’?
My workout routine is way different because we train for four hours a day. I haven’t really gone to the gym besides doing mobility work. So I’m just trying to prevent injuries, to get my hips more mobile, a lot of stretching. I feel my body adapting for sure. Like that first week, my legs were so sore, my calves were so sore, so I’m getting stronger in these smaller muscles in my legs.
I have no dance experience. Even before the show, I never did one dance TikTok.
What’s the Meal That Keeps You Most Energized?
I’ve tried to incorporate more smoothies, just because I’m getting skinny. So I’m trying to have protein shakes before bed and stuff. I’m trying to eat a lot of steak and veggies and just high protein right now.
I feel like I could eat anything right now, and I’m not going to be gaining weight.
What Is a Fitness or Health Goal You’re Working Toward?
No, right now, just stay healthy for the show. I don’t want to get injured, and I want to stay on this show as long as I can because I’m really, really enjoying it.
Is There a Change You Made From DWTS You Think You Will Implement After the Show?
No… I’ve done Iron Man’s and I’ve done a lot of physically challenging things, and I think it’s just about whatever obstacle you’re trying to do at that time, doing whatever’s best for your body for that. So right now, I’m really not worried about my pull-up strength. I want to try to do my best to just morph into a dancer, and the best way to do that is to dance as much as possible.
Tell Me About All the Newfound Attention and Being in the Spotlight After Winning ‘Traitors’ and Now on ‘DWTS’?
I love it. I’m embracing it all for sure. My whole life, I’ve kind of steered away from the spotlight, and that’s kind of what tackling this show is for me. It’s literally the first performance on stage with the spotlight on me. Like, my whole life, I’ve been more comfortable behind the camera, not being the focus of everyone. And this is a huge challenge to overcome that fear and not only have a spotlight on me, but actually command the stage and do the thing.
It was so much better than I thought. That’s the best part of having Week 1 behind us, is, I think it was just the fear of the unknown… And I can honestly say during the whole dance, it was a genuine smile, and I felt the energy from the audience and I enjoyed every moment of it. So as soon as it ended, it wasn’t like, “Oh, it’s over.” It was more like, “That was incredible, and I want to do it again!”
With Your New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, What Does Your Algorithm and Camera Roll Look Like?
Honestly, my camera roll is 10-minute videos of us dancing and 1000 of them. Then my algorithm is — I’m getting fed a lot more dances. I just watched a whole wedding dance and a lot of lifts and stuff like that. So the algorithm is definitely picking up on what I’m doing.