“That always really hurt my heart because I knew that maybe not all of them would have been saved, but if we would’ve had something to do and a culture to thrive in and a culture to feel a part of a community, people maybe would have wanted to go to a park every day,” he said.

In 2013, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority promised them an ambitious and expensive skatepark that would sit in the empty lot near the Atlantic City Expressway entrance.

But those plans never picked up speed, so he and his friends built their own ramps and ledges in a do-it-yourself park on Sovereign Avenue.

When that park, known as “back sov,” was torn down in 2017 because it was deemed a liability for the city, Klotz said the skating community suffered a “traumatic” blow.

“We had something good going in a city that doesn’t have much going for youth,” he said.

Now, after becoming an official nonprofit and getting approval from Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr. and city officials, Klotz thinks that community will return.

He’s seen skateboarding provide a community and a social aspect he hasn’t seen with other sports.