From Nurse to TikTok Star: Susi Vidal Talks Pesto, Going Viral, and Her "OnlyPans" Series (EXCLUSIVE)
By Emily Schmidt
Susi Vidal talks going viral on TikTok for not liking store-bought pesto, her OnlyPans content, and shares her own "crazy" story for 'Distractify.'
"Call me crazy if you want but I've never liked store-bought pesto."
If you've spent any time on TikTok lately, chances are you've seen Susi Vidal's face at the start of a video that promises to be full of unexpected plot twists.
Susi has been making TikToks for years now, sharing recipes for her "OnlyPans" followers — but you probably know her best for being the girl at the intro of every wild trauma dump story on the app right now.
"I personally don't notice how viral it is until people talk to me about it or until I get recognized on the street for being like the crazy pesto girl," Susi said on a call with Distractify. "Because the stitches don't come up on my For You page."
While any Susi stitch video ensures the viewer is in for a good storytime, Susi is also behind some great cooking content on TikTok.
Susi started her "OnlyPans" while in nursing school before taking TikTok full-time.
"Welcome to my OnlyPans, I hope you're horngry, babe," is the intro to many of Susi's TikTok cooking videos. She calls these videos her "OnlyPans," the name of which was meant to poke fun at her thirsty followers asking her if she had an OnlyFans account.
"I created the OnlyPans just to kind of make fun of them — like no I don't have an OnlyFans, but I have an OnlyPans," she said. "I don't know, people just liked it. And it just took off. It was kind of a joke."
That "joke" has since turned into a brand of her own, for which she's amassed 3.5 million followers in her three years making innuendo-laced cooking content on TikTok.
@susi.vidalTwice baked potatoes break the comfort scale everytime 😮💨 Ingredients: -5 small russet potatoes -1 small diced yellow onion -2 average diced jalapeños (i got you) -2 minced garlic cloves -7oz bacon (save some bacon bits for topping) -3/4c shredded cheddar (+ more for topping) -1/3c heavy cream -6tbsp butter -olive oil -salt and pepper -chives and sour cream for the top! Recipe: -preheat oven to 425F. Wash potatoes and cover in olive oil and salt. Pierce potatoes a couple times on each side. Add to oven rack and bake for 60-75min until soft (a knife should easily go through it). Remove from oven and let cool before cutting -while potatoes are baking chop onions, garlic, and jalapeños. Sauté in oil on med heat until tender. Set aside -cut bacon in small strips and cook on med heat until crispy. Remove and transfer to paper towel lined plate. TIP if you put the bacon in the freezer for a little it’ll be easier to cut! -heat cream and butter together until melted (can also do this in the microwave) -carefully cut the potatoes in half and gently scoop out the middle into a bowl. Leave some potato to the skin so it can hold its shape. -mash the potatoes and add the cooked onions, cream/butter, shredded cheddar, bacon bits, salt and pepper to taste ***if the filling is too thick and not creamy enough add more cream or butter (OR BOTH 😛) -fill potatoes, top with cheddar and put back in the oven for 10-15 min until cheese is melted (you can change the oven to broil or 425F but make sure it doesn’t burn) -top with sour cream, chives and bacon bits!! The perfect little side dish for dinner, enjoy ☺️
♬ original sound - Susi
"I've always been into making videos and then I started cooking in nursing school [with my best friend]," she said of her TikTok origins, noting she used to post vlogs on YouTube before she moved to TikTok. "So then during nursing school, I would just post random vlogs and also what I was cooking, and it kind of took off."
Susi claims her best friend "dragged [her]" into the hobby, starting when they made homemade pasta together one night.
"We both sat there and we were like wow we made this whole dish completely on our own with zero chef skills and zero cooking skills," she said. "And that just kind of sparked something in me."
Since then, Susi has found a home among FoodTok, sharing recipes and cooking videos regularly with her followers. Though she landed a nursing job not long after graduating, she quit it in February to pursue content creation full-time.
"I feel like it's everybody's dream job being able to work for yourself, and now I'm able to just make fun videos and enjoy life a little bit more," she said. "I'm very grateful to be in this position."
Susi's seen some of the "store-bought pesto" stitches — and has a story of her own.
Susi's pesto video has thousands of stitches, each story wilder than the next — and though the format isn't really the kind of content she's comfortable sharing on the internet, she says being known as the "store-bought pesto" girl doesn't really bother her.
"The whole thing is just wild," she said. "And I think people are really creative that they took the intro video and decided to make it into this full-blown trauma dump trend."
@susi.vidal#stitch with @Susi one of many crazy stories i have 🤣 felt like i had to share since everyone else is bahahahaha
♬ original sound - Susi
Susi attempted to participate in the trend she's best known for, sharing a story of her attempting (and failing) to hide a wild hangover from her parents when she was 18, though the comments on her video seemed to poke fun at how tame the story was compared to some of the other stitches.
"At this point, I've just given up because I honestly don't like to trauma dump online," she said. "I just figured people wanted me to say something about it. So I feel like the best way to say something without sitting there and actually saying something was participating in the trend to be like, 'I see you guys. This is fun,'" she said.
@susi.vidalthe only pesto recipe you need: 1c basil, 1/3c parmesan, 1/4c olive oil, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 1/2tbsp pine nuts, 1tbsp lemon juice, pinch of salt! Blend until smooth! 💚
♬ original sound - Susi
You're bound to see plenty more of Susi's stitches come across your For You page in the coming weeks before the trend dies down, but if you want to see more of Susi's content (and pick up some cooking skills along the way), she said you should watch the recipe featured in the stitch.
Her homemade pesto recipe is super quick and only takes 10 minutes and a food processor — no trauma necessary.
