Dylan Efron came out victorious as one of the four winners — and the unofficial leader of the "Faithfuls" — on the most recent season of Peacock's "The Traitors." And in the process, he also won over plenty of viewers' hearts, going from someone many people knew as "Zac Efron's younger brother" to a star in his own right.
And when we recently hopped on a Zoom call with the reality star, he shared that the audience's reaction during the show's airing was even better than he could have predicted. "I wasn’t expecting what happened at all, I knew it was a great show, I watched it and I knew my friends would like it," but still, he says that he watched the first few episodes at home with his girlfriend, feeling "nervous as hell."
"I kept telling everybody, 'I’m not gonna be in it that much in the beginning' ... and then the first two episodes, I was heavily featured and I was just like 'oh my God, what’s going on?' It was definitely like I was feeling it and reliving it with America, which was just so special and the audience reception was so kind. It's been an awesome year."
And, as he assures us, that won't be the last time he will be showing up on our TV screens — but for now, he's playing coy as to what that could be, "I think people can expect to see me on something coming soon," he says.
He adds that his "dream job" would be a travel adventure show (he previously worked on and appeared in his brother's documentary series "Down to Earth with Zac Efron).
"I grew up on shows like 'Dirty Jobs' and ones where you’re outdoors learning, that’s that’s been my dream since I was a kid," Efron says. "But I’m very open to more reality shows, because it’s just like, those experiences are once in a lifetime — why not make memories?"
In the meantime, Efron has teamed up with Cortizone-10 to help the brand launch its newest innovation, a Fast Acting Itch Relief Cooling Spray. As an outdoor enthusiast (among other things, he is a scuba diver and rock climber and has a van that he often takes on extended road trips), the partnership felt like a natural fit. Even more so, because the brand is also partnering with the National Park Foundation and providing a nearly $500k donation to help with preservation and conservation efforts.
"I love doing anything with the national parks, that's really where I fell in love with the adventure, being born and raised in California," Efron says. "Now, it’s mostly like Joshua Tree, but growing up, it was Kings Canyon, where my dad taught me to fly fish and Yosemite we’d go camping, the Redwoods we had our annual trips. So these national parks are what made me fall in love with road trips and nature, and anything I can do to protect those for the next generation is worth it for me."
For our Shopping Diaries series, we asked Efron to take us through some of his current essentials, from the items he always brings on his outdoor adventures to the things he wishes he had with him during his time on "The Traitors."
Shopping Diaries: Dylan Efron
"I grew up near San Luis Obispo [California], so we didn’t have any amusement parks or anything. When we had fun, we were in the river, we were floating, we were in the ocean," Efron says. "So it was a joke growing up that I got poison oak pretty much every weekend. Poison oak and somehow, mosquito bites, would just find me and not my friends. I think it's my blood type, blood type O — I think there’s something to that. I would just get killed, but it never stopped me."
So, he tried plenty of anti-itch solutions to find relief — and then he discovered Cortizone-10. "The first time I tried Cortizone-10, it was like oh my God, it actually works. So then from there, I have used it since I was a kid."
While the classic Cortizone Cream is one of his essentials, so is the brand's newest spray formula, which combines aloe with hydrocortisone for ultimate itch relief.
This is another item that he'll always pack for outdoor adventures. "You can’t really find that in other countries, which was bizarre to me ... I get cut and bruised all the time. I think I was in Costa Rica looking for Neosporin and they’re like 'Oh, we don’t have that here.'"
"A lot of people just feel like when you’re outdoors, you’re uncomfortable, you’re stinky. I think that was a big lesson for me, that you can be comfortable outdoors, and that starts with [lip balm], and having some daily essentials when you’re out there so you’re comfortable," Efron says.
Some of his other essentials include floss — "so I can floss when I’m backpacking, it’s so lightweight but it makes me feel normal," — and yes, deodorant, too (which he says some people might be surprised to hear, given that the internet was abuzz after he said in an interview that he thinks "people shower too much). "People don’t think I shower, [but] I don’t travel without deodorant," he tells us.
Considering how much time he spends outdoors, it's not surprising that sunscreen is one of his must-haves. "I really believe in having some sunscreen on my face," Efron says.
While he switches between brands, Shiseido is one brand that he really likes.
Efron says that he was "very underprepared" for his time in "The Traitors" when it came to what (and how) he packed for the show. Typically, when traveling, he transfers all of his vitamins out of their bottle and into one bag, but when he got to Scotland to film, the show team told him he couldn't bring them unless they were properly labeled. "And I was, like 'well, I need these, I take them every day,' and they were like 'I’m sorry' and they took all my vitamins, so I got sick."
So now he's changed his packing strategy. "Something I just started doing differently is I bought one of those [days of the week] vitamin things, I couldn’t recommend it more," he shares. While he didn't share which one he has, this is a popular Amazon option.
Another thing he wishes he had with him at the castle? "Hair products." He was surprised to find he was on his own when it came to prepping for shooting days. "I just assumed there would be like grooming and stuff, so I didn’t bring anything," he says.
This hair cream is one of his go-to's and was one of the styling products he wished he had brought along.
Efron says his grooming routine has changed a lot since his time on the show. "I even started buying some of those under-eye patches. Hilarious, because I never thought I’d use them, and you just kind of learn things like that. Like, oh wow I have like bags under my eyes! I never used to really care about that, but now I’m on camera, I’ll do that sometimes."
Efron is a big fan of the fantasy genre and often listens to audiobooks, and this is his current read. "I‘m on the final book of 'Throne of Glass' right now. It’s exciting because the book before was not that great ... but I can tell, I’m like six, seven chapters in, and it’s going to be a good finale."
If he had to choose one shoe to wear for the rest of his life, it would be ones from Arc'Teryx. "I have a pair of Arc’teryx approach shoes I’ve had for about 10 years and they’re amazing for adventures ... I can stand and on ledges and rock climb in them, but at the same time I can run a couple miles in them, so that’s my best all-around shoe," Efron says.
As for an "everyday" shoe, these sneakers are a staple in his rotation. "I can work out in them, I can play basketball in them," he says.
One thing Efron can never start his mornings without? "Iced coffee."
"I've got a Breville, we make iced Americanos when I’m home and then when I’m traveling, if I’m road-tripping in my van, I’ll have iced coffee with me. That’s the first thing I do if I know I’m spending the night somewhere." When he's on the road, he'll sometimes grab one that's premade to stick in his mini fridge, but on longer trips, he'll bring the Breville along. "I have the Bambino, which is pretty small, so I can bring it in and plug it into the van."
