There’s no better time to download TikTok, the app of the youth that just mere months ago I said I would never — ever — get. But times have changed, and we’re all finding new ways to entertain ourselves.
Before giving in and downloading it, my impression was that the app was that it’s a place for tiny teenage girls in crop tops to show off dance moves in their childhood bedrooms while celebrities try desperately to keep up. And don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of that content on the app — I can only imagine teenage me watching videos of my skinnier, more coordinated peers dancing sexily and feeling inferior in every possible way. But I’ve found that if you can stand the never-ending scrolling through the various categories, you might be surprised what else you can find.
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While I find it easier to unknowingly waste an hour scrolling through TikTok than any other social media app, I must admit that the humor and entertainment I find in the app is a nice break from people arguing on Twitter or the monotony of highly edited influencer photos on Instagram. From comedic shorts reminiscent of viral Vine videos to soothing time-lapses of cooking, to travel videography, and musicians with real talent, people around the world are bold enough to put their talent (or lack thereof) on display for a chance to rise to TikTok stardom.
Turns out, we have a few of those stars here in the Bay Area, from singers and slackliners to sandcastle experts and drag queens.If you’re on the app, or just TikTok curious, put a pause on your regularly scheduled programming and check out these popular TikTok accounts from locals.
1. Miki Rai | @mikiraiofficial (1.2 million followers)
Miki Rai is a 23-year-old nurse in San Francisco on the front lines in the battle against Covid-19. Having just graduated from nursing school two years ago, Rai is now working in the pediatric intensive care unit and using her spare time to educate her 1.2 million TikTok followers on everything Covid-19 related. Rai gained her large following after going viral in March for her videos that combine quirky and cute dancing with educational text about social distancing, proper hand-washing technique, and the realities health care professionals are currently facing. Rai recently told The Daily Mail, “I believe in the same way that health care professionals educate patients at the bedside, we have the same social responsibility to educate the public.”
2. Mxmtoon | @mxmtoon (1.6 million followers)
Maia, 19, also known as mxmtoon, is a singer-songwriter from Oakland who built her social media and music career from her parents’ bedroom. She’s a self-described emo kid, and her soft bedroom-pop songs, often accompanied by her ukulele, have gained widespread attention on TikTok and beyond.
Mxmtoon has been on social media since she was 11, posting on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to showcase her musical skills. She released her first EP, Plum Blossom, on Spotify in 2018 to the tune of 100 million streams. Her popular song “Prom Dress,” released in 2019, has since been featured in over 100,000 TikTok videos.
Mxmtoon’s videos also hold a comedic charm that resonates with fans. Since her rise to popularity, Maia’s parents — from whom she hid her identity as mxmtoon a secret for a full year — have allowed her to take a gap year before college to focus on her music. Despite small beginnings, mxmtoon has been profiled and praised in Nylon, Paste Magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and here in The Bold Italic. Her new EP dawn released on April 22 and is available on all streaming services.
3. Chonkie | @chonkster_ (26.2k followers)
Chonkie, a member of the East Oakland dance group Turf Fienz, is the creator of a viral TikTok dance called “The Smeeze.” Though the dance was originally created in 2009, it went viral earlier this year on Instagram and TikTok. Users quickly began learning the dance with the help of tutorials made by Chonkie himself, and now over 120 million videos are online. The dance was featured on the Ellen Show and performed by the popular dance group, the Jabbawockeez.
Give The Smeeze a try by following this tutorial, created by Chonkie himself.
4. Breannah Yeh | @yehslacks (281.7k followers)
Before TikTok, San Leandro native Breannah Yeh had a moderate following on YouTube, where she posted videos of her slacklining (walking and balancing along a suspended webbing between two anchors). In 2018, a representative from TikTok reached out to the 23-year-old suggesting she take her slacklining to the app.
Since then, Yeh has accumulated a following of well over 250,000, captivating viewers with videos of her walking on a slackline between trees, cliffs, on beaches, and over rivers. She also posts videos goofing around with her mother, and (before quarantine), her friends.
5. Kirk Maxson | @kirkmaxson (86.1k followers)
Kirk Maxson is an artist living in San Francisco, best known on TikTok for his unique and intricate drip sandcastles. For those not familiar with the sandcastle world, a drip sandcastle is made by mixing water and sand and then dripping the concoction from a fist onto the surface. Maxson is perhaps the internet’s king of the drip sandcastle, creating otherworldly landscapes at various California beaches that you have to see to believe. But sandcastles aren’t his only specialty — he also features his other art on his account, including flowers made entirely of sheet metal, various collages, and hand-cut brass feather wings created for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
6. Liane V. | @lianev (10.3 million followers)
Long before TikTok, San Jose born Liane Valenzuela — known simply as Liane V. — had already won over fans across social media. Her YouTube channel, where she posts weekly videos, has 467,000 subscribers, and her Instagram currently boasts 4.6 million followers. The 33-year-old Filipino social media star seemingly does it all, posting dance videos, original songs, makeup tutorials, workout videos, and comedic bits across all her platforms.
According to tikrank, a TikTok analytics tool updated weekly, Liane V. is currently listed as 57th among the top 100 most-followed people on TikTok in the U.S.
7. Minnie & Tink | @minnieandtink (3.8 million followers)
Married couple Scott and Zach Artice, also known as Minnie and Tink, began their career in drag doing makeup tutorials on Musical.ly, TikTok’s first iteration. Zach chose the persona of Tink as an ode to his favorite Disney character from Peter Pan, and Scott followed suit, choosing the name Minnie (inspired by Minnie Mouse). The couple, who live in and frequently perform drag in San Francisco, amassed a following that continues to grow. Now, they post parodies, lip syncs, makeup tutorials, and snippets of their lives together for their following of over 3 million.
“Our goal has always been to make drag more accessible to a younger audience,” Scott told Elle magazine. “We want our viewers to know it’s okay to be your truest, most authentic self.”
This especially rings true for Scott, who, according to the same interview, grew up in a Mormon household in Utah. Today, having left his religious upbringing behind, Scott performs drag in San Francisco alongside Zach.
8. Kyle Meshna | @kylemeshna (309.8k followers)
Kyle Meshna is a videographer and photographer from San Francisco. His account is pretty straightforward, featuring professional video clips and stills from some of the most beautiful spots around the West Coast, from Yosemite and the Golden Gate Bridge to the southern coast of Oregon, including many shot from a helicopter. He also posts photography tutorials. His posts — both stunning and nostalgic for adventure — bring in viewers sometimes numbering over 4 million.
9. Nick Cho | @nickcho_ (49.6k followers)
Nick Cho, co-founder and CEO of Wrecking Ball Coffee (locations in Berkeley and San Francisco), is known mostly for his slow, captivating videos of pour-over coffee. Since the shelter-in-place order went into effect, he’s also been posting more comedic content, like a recent video with 1.9 million views titled “How to Wipe Your Butt With One Square of Toilet Paper.”
He’s also used his platform to point out everyday racism (especially recently) toward Asian Americans. In one such video, he records himself from his own point of view as he walks around a Warriors game in March of this year wearing a mask, and almost everyone stares. His kind and genuine nature comes across in videos he titles “Your Korean dad,” where he talks to the camera about the hardships we’re all facing, offering encouragement and comic relief.
10. Coconut rice bear | @coconutricebear (773.5k followers)
Coconut, a Samoyed puppy around four years old, gained her initial following on Instagram, where she has 440,000 followers. Owner Chuck Lai then created a TikTok account for Coconut, setting the playful clips of the adorably fluffy pup to the tune of popular TikTok songs. Lai also adds in subtitles to some videos to depict what’s likely going through Coconut’s head. Coconut’s TikTok antics range from playing with the neighborhood cat, going for social distancing walks, and doggy-paddling in the water. In 2019, Coconut was on track to bring in $80,000 a year, according to SFGate.
