At a peak fitness point in his life, Dylan Efron recalled being “slightly vegan.”
“When I was doing a triathlon, I had a pretty vegan diet,” said the “Dancing With the Stars” season 34 finalist during a recent interview with WWD. “It was because I was training for about three hours a day, a lot of cardio, and if I would have meat, it would make it harder to train. It worked for me at the time, but, man, I was skinny.”
A quick trip to the doctor to get his blood work done revealed how overtrained and deficient he was across several nutrient categories. So, he upped his supplement intake and added whey protein to his daily diet. “I gained like 15 pounds of muscle overnight. It felt insane,” he remembered.
Dylan Efron poses with Garden of Life’s Clear Whey Protein.
“Whey protein was kind of the thing that turned my health around for the better,” Efron added. “It’s a staple for me. After every workout I have whey protein and even when I’m just hungry, in between breakfast and lunch. I try to have as much as I can every day.”
Given his own investment in the high-quality protein, derived from cow’s milk, Efron is teaming with Garden of Life on the launch of its new Clear Whey Protein, set to hit retail shelves this September. Available in three flavor profiles — Unflavored, Mango Mist and Lemon Frost — the dissolvable powder can be mixed in water, smoothies and shakes to deliver 20 grams of whey protein isolate.
As part of this partnership, the former “Traitors” star will partake in Aspen’s Food and Wine Classic this June, giving consumers an early taste of Garden of Life’s latest product. “Nutrition, fitness and travel are three of my biggest passions, and they all kind of collide in this,” he pointed out.
Garden of Life Clear Whey Protein.
Coming off “Dancing With the Stars,” and finishing in fourth place last fall, Efron said he’s pleased with his performance. “If I wasn’t in such good cardio shape, or been in the gym so much, I would have had to first lose weight on top of everything else,” he noted. “That’s why I’ve trained almost every day since I was a kid. I want to be ready for whatever exciting opportunity comes next.”
Indeed, his training today is not what it once was. For one, he’s prioritizing balance over body building. “When I was young, body building was kind of the staple and the thing that people learned first,” he recalled. “It was a strict regimen of going to do chest and triceps today, and then Tuesday’s back day, and Wednesday’s leg day.
“I don’t like that type of training because it’s almost too regimented and too specific,” he continued. “I think doing more things that are practical rather than a rigid motion. Confining yourself to killing your pecs one day I think is just unrealistic.”
Dylan Efron is congratulated by his brother Zac Efron and Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer after participating in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon.
Noel Vasquez
That said, his older brother, Zac, definitely fits the profile of a stereotypical “gym bro.” Efron said: “Zac’s definitely more of a gym guy. I’ve always been a little taller and leaner, and Zac can out gym, outlive me in pretty much every category, I’d say. But let’s play some sports and I have an edge.”
With his brother always in the theater, Efron positioned himself on the field. “I’ve always loved the cardio aspect, the training for sports. I’ve been able to pick up most new sports I try. As long as I try hard enough and give it enough time, I can pick up pretty much anything, and I was hoping that would be the case with dance as well,” he confessed. “But don’t get me wrong, my brother’s a better dancer than me.”
Even still, Efron is game for another stage gig in the future.
