Athlete Profile

X Games Bound: Rookies LJ Henriquez & Lily Dhawornvej

By Colin Bane

LJ Henriquez (16)and Lily Dhawornvej (15) are changing the face of snowboarding...

...and the teens just scored their rookie entries to X Games Aspen 2025 the old-fashioned way: They earned it.

At the Street Style Pro X Games qualifier in December, both LJ and Lily had to advance out of the Next X contest just to compete in the main event. No problem. They then beat much more seasoned pros to claim their X Games Aspen Street Style spots.

LJ says the impact of qualifying for X Games hit him immediately: “You ever have one of those moments in your life where you think, ‘Yeah, my life’s gonna be different from here on out’? That’s what those two nights were for me.”

Lily says she knew Next X contests historically have offered X Games opportunities for young amateurs and overlooked riders. But that doesn’t mean she thought qualifying for X Games was realistic. “I went in with no expectations about anything like that,” she says. “It was one big emotional moment after another.”

Both LJ and Lily quickly became fan favorites. LJ’s irrepressible energy pumped up the crowd, while Lily received one of the biggest roars of the night when she laced a 50-50 nollie “tame dog” frontflip. Lily couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry when her name was announced as Aspen-bound, so she did a little of both. In the men’s main event, LJ led the final until the very last second, and he was HYPED.

In addition to qualifying for X Games, Lily and LJ have a few other things in common: They’re 2024 U.S. Amateur Snowboarding Association (USASA) National Champions in slopestyle, and Lily was named to the U.S. Snowboard Rookie Slopestyle Team in September.

They also represent new demographics in snowboarding. LJ’s father Lenim “Lenny” Henriquez, Sr. is a first-generation Dominican-American; Lily’s father Singkorn “Korney” Dhawornvej is first-generation Thai-American.

LJ is supported by the National Brotherhood of Snowsports (NBS), founded in 1973 “to identify, develop and support athletes of color who will win International and Olympic winter sports competitions representing the United States and to increase participation in winter sports.” Lily is part of Soy Sauce Nation, a community of Asian-American snowboarders with a mission “to create space for underrepresented people and groups by highlighting them through media, producing events and partnering with the best-of brands that believe in diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Introducing Lenim “LJ” Henriquez, Jr

Image ©Brett Wilhelm/X Games

Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Little Falls, New Jersey, most of LJ’s early snowboarding days were spent on the indoor slopes at Big Snow American Dream, part of a shopping mall complex in East Rutherford. Depending on traffic, Big Snow is between 15 and 90 minutes from his house (“East Coast traffic is like that,” LJ says).

LJ admits it’s an unlikely origin story for a snowboarding sensation, but he feels born into it. “My dad's best friend, my godfather, was into snowboarding and got my dad into it,” LJ recounts. “When I was like two years old, I said, ‘I want to go, let me ride!’ I started going with them to East Coast mountains like Shawnee in Pennsylvania and Mountain Creek in New Jersey.

“I was five when I first met Zeb Powell at a mountain in Vermont -- my dad has a photo of us!,” LJ continues. “Zeb’s been looking out for me ever since.”

Image courtesy LJ Henriquez

LJ won his first contest at age 6. By 2017 he was featured in TransWORLD Snowboarding as an “8 Year Old Style Master.” He began competing in the FIS Futures Tour at age 13, earning 2nd in his Futures Tour debut, then winning his second event, at Gore Mountain, NY.

Last year, 2024, was a breakthrough. He won the USASA National men’s slopestyle open in April and starred in 75, the 75th anniversary film from Warren Miller Entertainment. LJ is featured at home and in Japan with Zeb Powell and X Games host Selema Masekela, who also directed the segment.

“One day I’m sitting in my bed and Selema calls, like, ‘Yo, you want to go to Japan?’” LJ says. “Hell yeah! I grew up riding rails, some jumps, even some halfpipes, but one thing we don’t get on the East Coast is lots of powder. The Japan trip was pretty much the first time I ever rode in deep snow, and it was for one of the biggest movies of the year. No pressure!”

Next stop, Aspen. LJ says he’s ready to embrace the moment full on and hopes to add it to his string of recent successes. “It’s been crazy,” he says. “I’ve just been snowboarding my ass off and everything started working out.”

Meet Lily Dhawornvej (“dah-wanna-WAY”)

Born in Denver, Colorado, Lily now lives at Copper Mountain with her parents Korney and Rebecca and 17-year-old brother Caleb, her inspiration.

“My whole family snowboards and I’ve always looked up to my brother,” she says. “All my life I’ve just wanted to follow his footsteps and be a super cool snowboarder like him.”

She has an additional role model, too. “The person I’m most looking forward to riding with and cheering on at X Games is Mia Brookes,” Lily says. “I definitely look up to her; she has such a cool style.”

Lily says watching Mia, then 17, win Slopestyle gold at X Games Aspen 2024 felt like a permission slip to attempt a serious bid herself. They first met at Bushdoof 2024 in September, a Monster Energy event hosted by Tess Coady at Thredbo in Australia. Lily and Mia shared Best Women Overall honors.

“It’s intimidating to go up against older riders, for sure, but now I just remind myself that age doesn’t matter much,” Lily says. “Bushdoof gave me confidence for X Games because it showed I’m just as capable of winning as anyone.”

While many of the Street Style competitors at X Games Aspen 2025 are street specialists, Lily says she hopes to follow Mia Brookes’ do-it-all approach in her career (Brookes is slated to compete in four disciplines at XG Aspen 2025). Lily made the final and finished 7th in Big Air at the recently completed Austrian World Cup, and she was just added to the X Games Aspen 2025 Knuckle Huck roster.

A high school sophomore, Lily recently shifted to an online school to further focus on snowboarding following the family’s move to Copper, where she trains with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail. Lily also enjoys skateboarding and training on the trampolines and foam pits at Woodward Copper.

Her other passion? Pickleball. “We approach it the same way we approach snowboarding,” Lily says. “It’s super fun and we’re super competitive with each other.”

Street Style Pro Reflections

“Snowboarding under the lights with that crowd, with the music cranking and so much noise and so much going on, it felt crazy,” LJ says of Copper Street Style Pro. “It was all-around surreal. When I realized I’d won the Next X round, I lost my mind and just started screaming.”

“During the final, it was hard to pay attention to the rider rankings, so I had no idea I was in the lead at any point,” LJ says. “I’m so hard on myself. I took my last run and didn’t think I’d made it, so when they called me for 2nd, I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way! I’m going to X Games!’”

“The level of riding was extraordinarily high and seeing riders charging so hard was amazing,” Lily says. “Everyone was hyping each other up and because of that it’s probably the best I’ve ever ridden in my life. I burst out crying when they called my name for the podium. I was in absolute shock. I still am!”

LJ Henriquez Bio Blast

DOB: March 19, 2008. Age: 16
1st in Next X and 2nd in Street Style Pro at Copper Mountain, CO (Dec. 2024), an X Games qualifier, to earn his rookie invitation to XG Aspen 2025.
His response to any compliments he receives for his riding or anything else: “Ya tu sabe!” Translation: “You already know!”
On his star turn in 75, the 75th anniversary Warren Miller Entertainment film: “I’m a Jersey boy. That’s all there is to it. A Dominican snowboarder on the East Coast. To find myself in Hokkaido [Japan] for nine days with two of my heroes, filming for one of the biggest winter sports films of the year, was just unreal.”
An excellent baseball player, LJ has received interest from top baseball universities.
2024 USASA National Champion in boys’ slopestyle, open division.
Instagram: @lj_henriquez

Lily Dhawornvej Bio Blast

DOB: August 14, 2009. Age: 15
2nd in Next X and 3rd in Street Style Pro at Copper Mountain, CO (Dec. 2024), an X Games qualifier event, to earn a rookie invitation to XG Aspen 2025.
Tied Mia Brookes for top honors at Bushdoof in Thredbo, AUS, in Sept. 2024.
Named to the U.S. Snowboard Rookie Slopestyle Team in Sept. 2024. She’s had good fortune in Aspen before: She took 2nd in slopestye at a Rev Tour stop there in March 2024, a FIS Nor-Am Cup event.
2024 USASA National Champion in girls’ slopestyle, open division.
Instagram: @mslildice