Cal Poly alum, Dylan Efron, takes the ballroom stage on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
It is that time of year again. Social media is abuzz, the phone lines are off the hook with votes and our favorite stars are back on the ballroom floor.
Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars” kicked off on Sept. 16 with a familiar face on the screen.
Cal Poly alum and Arroyo Grande native Dylan Efron took the stage, trading in his hiking boots for dancing shoes, and performing a cha-cha to “Milkshake” by Kelis with professional partner Daniella Karagach.
Efron graduated from Cal Poly in 2013 as a business major with a minor in economics. He was selected to be a star this season after winning “The Traitors (US),” a social deduction game show, earlier this year.
“After Traitors, everyone was saying ‘oh you should do this show or Special Forces,’ all these ones that were in my wheelhouse, and this [Dancing with the Stars] was the one that was like ‘oh God, that is so uncomfortable’” Efron said. “And of course, that’s the one I end up doing.”
Despite not having any dance experience, Efron has taken the ballroom stage as a featured celebrity and shown immense determination, performing what viewers are calling “an incredibly difficult” samba dance during week two.
@dylanefron Me and you! #TeamDaDy @Dancing with the Stars DWTS
♬ Me & U – Tems
Efron said while “Dancing with the Stars” pushes him out of his element, it aligns with his goal to immerse himself in experiences that prompt growth.
Efron reflects on growing up in San Luis Obispo County
Efron grew up in Arroyo Grande, a town about 25 minutes south of San Luis Obispo.
Before becoming a television personality, Efron was known for his adventurous and outdoor social media content.
“I loved growing up there,” Efron said. “I remember when I first got to Cal Poly, a lot of people weren’t from here and were obsessed with hiking and were like ‘oh my gosh, have you hiked Bishop?’ and it was like, wow, did we really take this for granted that we hiked every weekend?”
This past summer, he visited Lake Nacimiento, which is about 50 minutes from San Luis Obispo, with brother and High School Musical actor Zac Efron, enjoying the warm weather and cool lake.
Efron said he always loved nature, and growing up in San Luis Obispo heightened that admiration. When he was younger, he recounted jumping on any opportunity he could to go on an adventure and discover the world around him.
“As soon as we all got our licenses, me and my friends would just hop in the car and go and float the river or find some new park to explore,” Efron said. “It was like the world was our oyster, and instead of getting stuck in a suburban city with nothing around it, we could go an hour north to Paso or we’d go to Death Valley. We would just drive around to anywhere we wanted.”
Cal Poly Experience
Originally, Efron said his dream school was University of California, Santa Barbara. He was waitlisted there and by the time he was accepted, he already had a roommate at Cal Poly and decided to stick with it.
“Everything just made sense, and I’m so happy I chose it that way,” Efron said.
Efron said Cal Poly’s small class sizes are what kept him engaged during college.
“I had one class with like 100 people, and I hated it,” Efron said. “I’m much more of the 40-person classroom vibe.”
While Cal Poly’s proximity to the beach and overall location draw in students, Efron has a different perspective that ties into Cal Poly’s philosophy.
“I think what I really enjoyed most at Cal Poly was taking rodeo, taking welding and taking tractor driving. I did a bunch of weird classes and weird electives that I’ll never forget,” Efron said.
Efron adopted the “Learn By Doing” philosophy during his Cal Poly career and it never left his mind.
Time on Traitors
Efron was a contestant on season three of “The Traitors (US).” He appeared in all 12 episodes of the show using his skills to weed out the traitors and ultimately become one of the season’s winners alongside Gabby Windey, Dolores Catania and Lord Ivar Mountbatten.
“The Traitors (US)” was Efron’s first television appearance in a competition setting. It allowed him to stray from his usual social media content.
“I was super comfortable making my content on social media and staying in my lane,” Efron said. “But I feel like every year I was growing more confident in who I was, and I remember that was the first year I was like, you know what, I’m down to take a risk.”
“The Traitors (US)” is a reality competition show with around 20 contestants. Most contestants are considered “Faithfuls,” while a select few are the “Traitors.” It is the Faithful’s job to figure out who the Traitors are and vote them off each week.
“The show is really tough in the beginning because there’s so many people,” Efron said. “In the beginning, it’s a lot of shooting in the dark, a lot of listening to people and kind of walking on eggshells.”
Contestants must use game plans, critical thinking skills, teamwork and create alliances to discover who the traitors are.
“I’m not a huge character on camera, but if there is a skill I’m good at, it’s making genuine friends and relating to people,” Efron said. “So, I really just tried to do that with everyone I could, not just become friends because it’s a show, but actually listen and get to know people. I think that was probably my greatest strength.”
As the game goes on, the players become more intuitive. They learn strategies and tactics that help them stay in the game.
Efron credited his success on the show to his “economics brain,” mentioning the skills he developed during his time at Cal Poly.
“I was pretty quick to pick up who the traitors were when it got down to ten because there were just less, and that’s where my economics brain came in,” Efron said.
Throughout the show, Efron caught on to the Traitors and made compelling arguments with evidence to convince other contestants he was correct such as successfully convincing his fellow Faithfuls that Britney Haynes was a Traitor in the season finale. This worked out in his favor as he continued to be strategic throughout the game and was crowned one of four champions of season three.
Efron’s Advice for Cal Poly Students
Although Efron is now a well-known name across the nation, he was sitting in classrooms at the Orfalea College of Business (OCOB) just over ten years ago.
“The friendships you have in college are so special, and it’s so easy to take it for granted,” Efron said. “You’re there for four years, you’re going to see them every day, but then as soon as college is over, everyone goes different directions. Make sure you try to keep them in your life forever, stay in touch with people, and plan what you guys are going to do after college.”
Despite his positive experiences at Cal Poly, Efron said he had his fair share of school anxieties, including a nightmare he had over one class that stuck with him for a few years after college.
“In the best way possible, put less pressure on yourself. College is a time for you to grow and a time for you to truly make friends and explore your passions,” Efron said. “If you get a B, if you get a C, if you get a D, it’s not the end of the world. Your GPA is such a small, small, small, small aspect of your life, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
Even after graduating over a decade ago, Efron admires Cal Poly. He still remembers growing up around SLO, being a Cal Poly student and his experience.
“God, they’re [Cal Poly students] on the right path, they chose an amazing school,” Efron said.
Dancing with the Stars
Efron was introduced as a star on season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars” on Sept. 3 during the annual “Good Morning America” cast announcement.
So far, he has completed two dances. The first being a cha-cha to “Milkshake” by Kelis. The second being a samba to “Macarena” by Los Del Rio during week two, “One-Hit Wonders Night.”
Week one, Efron and his partner Karagach earned a score of 10 out of 20.
“I’ve set weekly goals for myself, like week one was just to get out there, put on a show and conquer my stage fright because I’ve never performed,” Efron said. “Week two, I wanted to show improvement.”
Efron achieved both goals as he got a standing ovation for his first dance and greatly improved his scores in week two.
Week two, Efron performed a samba, which Karagach said would be the hardest dance he would learn throughout the whole season.
Despite the challenge, Efron and Karagach earned two sevens and a six compared to the two fives they received in week one.
“Week three, I really want to go out there, my first time in frame, and show I can actually ballroom dance and not just shake my hips,” Efron said. “I think it’s just every week keep improving and prove to myself more than anyone that I can do this.”
A new episode of the show premieres every Tuesday at 8 p.m. PST. The season winner is determined by weekly elimination, the judges’ scores and fan votes.
“Watch ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and vote,” Efron said. “The votes mean a lot.” The newest episode will premiere on Sept. 30, and the theme is “TikTok Night.” Voting starts at 8 p.m. EST and closes after the final dance is performed.
