Allan Andranikian – General Manager
Allan is a New York City Native, born and raised in Washington Heights. During a visit to the Armenian Countryside back in 2008, Allan began climbing on his grandfather’s cobblestone farm house. He has been an avid rock climber ever since.
Allan continued his climbing journey while pursuing a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was the captain of the college Climbing Team, as well as the head route setter at his campus climbing facility. He then moved to Boston to work full time as an engineer and became a member of Central Rock Gym. After learning of an opportunity that he would be unable to refuse, Allan decided to leave the engineering field and join the CRG team. He is excited to help foster a community centered around his passion, and share climbing with the people of his home city.
When he isn’t climbing, Allan enjoys hiking, reading, working on his motorcycle, and spending time with his wife and his dog.
Elayne Bryan – Assistant Manager
Hailing from Miami, Elayne spent many months training and eventually working in a humid climbing gym before ever touching real rock. Taking full advantage of living in the tropics and generally being not super fond of climbing in the cold, she’s enjoyed climbing in places like Cuba and Puerto Rico but has also found herself on unplanned nighttime descents in Red Rock Canyon, El Potrero Chico, and more.
After years of trying to balance a love for climbing with the grueling schedule of the entertainment industry, she’s been lured back to her gym roots alongside the incredible CRG Manhattan Team. Her favorite thing is to introduce newcomers to the sport and watch them fall for climbing the same way she did. When not at the gym, you can find her tackling a renovation project in TN, or roaming around with her best friend Ziggy, a lovable mutt who just showed up one day.
Corey Ryan – Head Route Setter
Corey Ryan was introduced to climbing when he was 11 and joined the local climbing team at X-treme Rock Climbing in Miami, Florida. When his coach left to pursue new ventures at USA Climbing, Corey took up the reigns and became Head Coach at age 16. At the same time, he began to try his hand at route setting–and he’s been doing it ever since. Currently a Level 4 Route Setter, Corey joined the CRG family in 2016, setting for the Glastonbury facility before moving to NYC to become CRG Riverside’s Head Setter. He prides himself on setting thought-provoking and fulfilling climbs for CRG’s clientele.
Outside of climbing, Corey (aptly nicknamed “Miami”) received his Masters in Linguistics from Florida International University and worked as a Study Abroad Assistant for 5 years, leading undergraduate students through several European countries (ask him and he’ll tell you France is his favorite). When he’s not spinning plastic on the walls or climbing, you can usually find him in a museum, at a café, lounging in the park, or somewhere wandering the city.
Jim Hardy – Instruction Coordinator
Jim started climbing in 2009 at the age of 14 when the first Central Rock Gym opened in Worcester, MA. He quickly joined the competitive rock climbing team and started working part time at the gym. Jim continued to work at Central Rock Gym through high school and college at multiple Central Rock Gym locations.
Jim attended UMass Amherst and received a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. He then stayed in Amherst and worked as an engineer and climbed at Central Rock Hadley. Realizing that he enjoyed time spent in the gym more than time spent engineering, he decided to make a change. Jim is excited to bring his love of climbing to the city.
When Jim isn’t climbing, he is playing the cello, exploring the city on his unicycle or spending time with family and friends.
Lina Siegert – Program Coordinator
For more than a decade Lina has been involved with the climbing industry as an instructor, pro climber, setter and former manager of a climbing facility . She got into climbing in South America in 2006. For her, climbing opened a door not only to a great community but to a path of self discovery which has helped her mature and become more grounded as an individual.
Lina’s background in fitness has allowed her to help others begin and advance through their climbing careers, and to achieve their personal best through training and physical conditioning. For her, introducing new people to the sport of climbing and ensuring that they receive proper training is the best way to give back to the community. To this day she still credits her own trainer in Colombia, Jerson, for her love of the sport.
Lina majored in Anthropology, Archaeology and Italian cultural studies. She loves the ocean, water sports, reading, and animals.
