Meet The Team
Once upon a time, Andrew recognized a need for a new style of climbing gym in Vancouver, BC. Having a genuine love for the climbing community, Andrew worked for 3 years developing the first Hive location in the heart of Vancouver and he is proud to share the realization of his vision for community-focused climbing & fitness facilities in BC and Manitoba.
Climbing, Education, and Community are the central pillars of everything Andrew brings to the Hive and he works constantly to take the Hive Climbing Community to new heights. The success of The Hive Vancouver led Andrew to open The Hive North Shore and, a couple years later, The Hive Surrey. These new locations brought an opportunity for the community to embrace a more well rounded level of fitness, and Andrew brought this pillar of Health and Wellness into the foundations of The Hive.
Keeping up with the growing climbing scene, Andrew is excited about the sharing the joys of climbing with as many people as possible, with new locations in Winnipeg and Port Coquitlam expanding access to climbing into new communities. Andrew can be found at all levels of the business – as the ‘King Worker Bee’ he happily helps out with setting, keeps up with the community, and continually strives to offer a 5 Star Experience to everyone who walks through our doors.
Growing up in rural Ontario, Shayne spent much of his youth outside, dabbling in climbing here and there but mostly his spare time was spent paddling a canoe. Years later and after a few trips to The Boiler Room in Kingston, the fire was lit and climbing became a new passion.
Shayne is thrilled to be a part of the awesome community that continues to grow in and around The Hive. He aims to provide the ultimate experience for everyone that walks through our doors.
“Climbing has given me so much; I love being able to give back, and share the joys of climbing with so many. Contributing to the growth of a positive community around climbing is something I can work proudly towards everyday.” When he’s not directing operations, you’re likely to find Shayne enjoying the rock outdoors, in Squamish or abroad.
Bernadette is a long time champion of Hive staff with amazing energy and a strong drive to do the right thing and support every member of the team. We’re so grateful to have her aboard!
Updated information on Bernie coming soon.
It is no coincidence Brad’s climbing career started with the doors opening at The Hive. He wandered in, looking for a new hobby, and within no time he was hooked. Over the last three years Brad has been fueling his addiction within, and on, The Hive’s walls and is excited to be part of the team.
Years spent working in the restaurant industry have given him a boatload of experience in dynamic work environments, focusing on guest experience. A competitive curler in Ontario and British Columbia, his experiences both on and off the ice have taught him the importance of teamwork, training and community within a recreation environment. All these traits, paired with his love of climbing and all things outdoors, makes him amped to share what The Hive has to offer with climbers and non-climbers alike.
Sarah has always been a climber at heart. As a kid she would climb everything; door frames, trees, and she was the monkey bar master. So it’s no surprise she found rock climbing and immediately got hooked.
Starting out as a desk staff back in 2016, she immersed herself in the community and quickly started to teach intro courses and help out the education team. She immediately fell in love with teaching and coaching and has continued to do so ever since.
After moving to Australia in 2019, she worked at a rope gym and got more teaching experience in the sport climbing department, which translated well into her next role which was Head Instructor of our Hive Heights location. You can now find Sarah at our North Shore location, continuing to expand and manage the education department there.
When not working, you can find her climbing outside in Squamish, paddleboarding, or hiking. Pretty much anything outside related!
Kate grew up climbing trees in Ontario, but through highschool and college was all about the arts and had little interest in sports or fitness beyond riding her longboard around the city. When she found climbing after college, everything changed! On one adventure to BC, like so many other settlers here, nowhere else really felt like home.
Having worked in customer service with The Hive since year 1, Kate enjoys combining her creative background with her passion for The Hive, the community, and our sport, managing the events, marketing & communications for the business.
When she’s not thinking about the climbing community, you can find Kate touching rocks (on ropes or boulders), looking for a delicious snack, or gleefully riding her motorcycle.
Kate is an uninvited guest on these lands and grateful to share space in these beautiful, unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations who have continued to inhabit and steward these lands every day since time immemorial.
Don’t let Revy’s fun, bright personality fool you – he means business when it comes to building community through awesome events! More on Revy coming soon…
More about Shabana ccoming soon!
Raquel, originally from Spain, moved to Canada in 2021 to work as photographer, and from the beginning, she fell in love with the country, the landscapes, wildlife and yes! the weather! Always an adventurous soul, after fourteen years she switched from horses to the climbing wall around four years ago. While working as a route-setter in the Hive’s North Shore location, Raquel now joins the communications team as a digital marketing specialist.
She is almost 90% of the time climbing in the gym, but if she’s not there, you can find Raquel biking on the North Shore, climbing in Squamish, or exploring around, always with her camera.
Despite growing up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Genny Mae didn’t start climbing until 2013, shortly before moving to Vancouver. She spent her summers growing up in southern Alberta camping, and hiking to look for dinosaur bones in remote areas. Genny Mae loves climbing for the community and the intuitive movement (or at least it feels intuitive to her gymnast-cheerleader brain). Plus, it’s the perfect, seasonally complimentary sport to skiing — mountain play all year-round!
Anyone who’s spent time with this ball of energy and fun knows that Genny Mae is passionate about being zero/low waste and loves baking & creating things in the kitchen as much as she loves being active.
North Shore Team
Kallie is one of our gems at North Shore. She started out as a regular customer and climber – we loved her so much that we took her in! Easy going and organized, she is our go-to girl. She also is a talented Opera singer and is a music major!
Judith (“You-dit”) began practicing yoga over a decade ago and was initially drawn to yoga for the combination of stretching and strengthening. As she developed a regular practice, she was able to move past just the physical practice and feel at home in her body, falling in love with everything else yoga has to offer. She completed her 200hr with Karma Teachers Yoga in 2020, teaching through a variety of styles and mediums since. You can expect a slower paced class with intentional sequencing, breathwork, and a focus on building a positive relationship to self.
Outside of her work and practice, Judith is an avid cook, mountain biker, and climber. She loves snacks, fermentation, and kitchen dance parties. You can find her on instagram @yoga.with.udit.
Michelle is from a small town on Vancouver Island, where she grew up loving all that BC has to offer, especially skiing with her family during the winters.
She didn’t try climbing until she was at UBC, where it was only a matter of time until her friends dragged her out to Squamish for some sport climbing. She loved the challenge of the sport combined with the supportive and social community surrounding it, and has continued to seek creating these moments with others ever since.
Michelle first joined the Hive team as an instructor at the Vancouver gym, and was quickly inspired to take on the Education Coordinator role. Now she’s at the North Shore gym, appreciating the closeness to the mountains.
Surrey Team
One of the few elusive born-&-raised Vancouverites, Kyle worked as a cook and a chef for almost 10 years before climbing invaded his life via Hive Surrey manager, Brad. Kyle wound up as our Vancouver manager after nearly a year of prodding by a couple of Hive folks, and a well timed job opening. He manages The Hive North Shore with enthusiasm, and we couldn’t be happier to have him on board!
The community resonates with Kyle because “I’m an obsessive kind of person who likes to dive head-first into my interests, similar to much of the climbing community. The sense of adventure provided by climbing is a huge part of why I love it so much”.
While he started off bouldering, Kyle has found his true love in trad climbing and has made some big progress in the last couple of years. Climbing granite cracks, cooking dinner for friends or enjoying a game of snooker, we love Kyle for his all-in, positive attitude.
More about Andrew coming Soon
Vancouver & Heights Team
One of our favourite resident Brits, Ed is always a friendly face at Hive Vancouver!
Ed started bouldering indoors in London, in 2013. It wasn’t long before he started climbing outdoors, and this new passion sparked the move to Canada, to be closer to Squamish. Lucky for us Ed stayed in Vancouver, but he still spends as much time as possible in Squamish and lately has developed a keen interest in rope climbing.
Ed’s love of our community revolves around the diversity of people united by a shared passion for climbing. “Where else can you find paramedics, accountants, lawyers, students, brought together by a shared love of lifelong learning — it’s an incredible connector, really special.”
We couldn’t agree more!
Jonny hails from the United Kingdom and moved to Vancouver in 2015. He was first introduced to the Hive through a surprise membership gifted by his wife, and from that point on he never left. Although he enjoyed climbing in the UK, the passionate community and positive vibes that surround the Hive left an immediate and lasting impression, leading Jonny to join the team in 2018.
He has since held various management positions within The Hive, including as Education Coordinator and now as Assistant General Manager for the Vancouver bouldering gym. In this role he supports Ed with all aspects of day-to-day operations at our flagship location, and manages our brilliant customer service team.
Jonny is always on hand to connect with the community and sneak out onto the mats to say ‘hi’ to everyone whenever possible. Plus, he’s always looking for music recommendations and has a Lord of the Rings quote ready for any occasion.
More about Aili coming soon
Tony made his way out west after cutting his teeth in Toronto’s gyms and Niagara Glen and quickly made himself indispensable at Heights. Tony’s passion for climbing and community is truly infectious! Outside the gym Tony is a keen foodie and nutrition nerd – recipe recommendations always welcome.
Winnipeg Team
Kori was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba (west of Winnipeg) and grew up on a small grain farm. As Manitoba has very few rocks and very little elevation to gain, Kori’s first exposure to climbing revolved around childhood summer trips to Squamish while visiting Vancouver-based family.
When Kori moved to Winnipeg to attend the University of Manitoba in 2007, his interest in climbing grew while going to a small bouldering wall regularly at the university, run by the University of Manitoba Climbing Club.
After completing his Bachelor of Kinesiology in 2012, he turned his sights to outdoor climbing and began to make 3 hour weekend trips to Northwestern Ontario for sport and trad climbing. Along with his experience and expertise, Kori has a passion for movement and climbing and has been a mainstay in the Winnipeg climbing community for years.
After managing all climbing services at the U of M, Kori decided it was time to make his dream of opening a modern and spacious bouldering gym a reality. Through his partnership with The Hive owner and ‘King Worker Bee’ Andrew Coffey, Kori is thrilled to be bringing The Hive to Winnipeg and can’t wait to grow the community and get more people climbing!
Karen tried climbing for the first time at the end of her music degree at the University of Manitoba in 2020. Although she hasn’t played her french horn much since then, she has climbed lots more walls! She started to climb at Hive Winnipeg shortly after it opened and it became one of her favorite places in the city, eventually leading her to apply for a customer service position.
She greatly appreciated the wholesome community and work culture, which motivated her to become increasingly involved at the gym and eventually become Winnipeg’s first assistant manager and later the general manager! While she may seem serious at first, she enjoys finding the humor in life and loves to joke around with the Winnipeg staff. She values the wide variety of duties that go along with being a manager and the endless opportunities to learn new skills.
When she’s not working, Karen can often still be found at the gym climbing crimpy slab problems and sometimes attempting dynos. She remains a music appreciator and enjoys live music from a wide variety of genres – classical to rock to indie to folk to jazz. She also enjoys wandering through new cities, learning languages, and trying to convince herself that she enjoys the gluten free versions of foods.
Jessalyn grew up in the flat, flat prairies of southern Manitoba, with team sports and farm chores taking up the majority of her childhood. She was introduced to a version of climbing while working at various summer camps as a teen and while it piqued her interest, she wasn’t fully hooked. In 2019, she happened to rediscover climbing when looking to shift her volunteer efforts and career in a more recreational and outdoors direction, and it’s been ramping up ever since.
“Climbing has offered me a second chance at staying active and strong as I age out of other traditional sports. I love the way it combines physical and mental challenges, and the friends aren’t so bad either. I’m excited with the opportunity to contribute to and build stoke in the climbing corner of sports!”
At the crag, Jessalyn is never without her iced tea and a stash of snacks, insisting that a fuzzy peach is often the difference between an attempt and a send. Beyond climbing, she enjoys a variety of activities, including backpacking, paddle boarding, thrifting, playing board games, reading, and playing the piano.
Tina was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba after her family immigrated to Canada from China. After high school, she went on to study Psychology and Linguistics at the University of Manitoba.
Like many others, Tina didn’t discover her love for climbing until adulthood when her friend (and former Hive staff member) invited her to climb at the Hive Winnipeg. She quickly fell in love with bouldering, which led her to apply to be part of the education team as an instructor. It didn’t take long for her to join the customer service team, work her way up to customer service supervisor, and finally landed herself the role of Education Coordinator.
When she is not at the gym, you’ll find Tina either crocheting, reading, baking, or all of the above while sipping on a cup of tea.
Owen grew up in Winnipeg and has lived here all his life. His dad started bringing him to a local climbing gym when he was quite young because he was climbing all over everything else anyways. He started working at The Hive because Kori, the managing partner, was his coordinator at a previous job, and when he found out Kori was helping to open a new climbing gym in Winnipeg, he was excited to be a part of it. Over the last few years Owen has really valued playing a role in growing a community that was much, much smaller when he joined. He’s best known for forgetting his things everywhere and accidentally bringing the setting room keys home with him. Outside of the gym he likes to read and lose his voice at karaoke.
Matt grew up in Southern Ontario and discovered climbing around 2013, after moving to the wide open prairie expanses of Manitoba. After spending the first couple years exclusively pulling on plastic, Matt discovered the wealth of climbing available in the Kenora area of Northwestern Ontario and soon shifted his focus to making the 3 hour drive there to climb outside as much as possible.
Somewhere along the way Matt and a friend began documenting the bouldering in both Lac du Bonnet and Kenora and are excited to release the very first bouldering guidebook for prairie folk. He hopes this guide will get more Manitobans psyched on climbing outside and prove to other climbers that contrary to popular belief, flatlanders actually have access to a considerable amount of amazing granite bouldering.
Born and raised in the flatlands of Winnipeg, Sam, like many other prairie climbers of his generation, found climbing later in life. For years, climbing became a bigger and bigger part of his life until one day after graduating film school, he got the opportunity to make a promotional video for The Hive Winnipeg in exchange for some punch passes. This led to eventually working at The Hive and climbing becoming even more ingrained in his life. When he’s not at the gym daydreaming about his next trip to Squamish, he can usually be found doing any number of things that ideally take him outdoors and with friends.
PoCO Team
Braeden has lived in the Greater Vancouver area for his entire life. Soon after completing his Bachelor of Music in the Secondary Education Stream at UBC, He was introduced to bouldering by a friend, and first experienced the sport at Hive Vancouver. Instantly he was in love with climbing and has been climbing ever since.
Curious about route setting, he applied to work for the Hive with the hopes of joining the soon to be Hive Surrey team. Coming from a supervisor and beer manager role at a high end liquor store, Braeden had extensive experience in delivering high standards of customer experience. Braeden was a member of the Hive because of the incredible community within it as well as the love of the sport, and wanted to bring his knowledge and skill set to help further develop a thriving climbing community.
You can often find Braeden climbing at the Surrey or Poco locations, clad in tank and tights. When he is not climbing or working, Braeden spends a lot of time as a Live Streamer, or enjoying the outdoors via snowboarding or skateboarding.
More about Harman coming soon
Coaches
Ricardo was born and raised on the sunny beaches of Brazil, where he developed a deep passion for movement and competition. Growing up, he played competitive soccer and excelled in arm wrestling, later channeling his love for sport into coaching both disciplines for several years.
With a degree in Geology, Ricardo’s journey eventually brought him to Canada, where he found a new home in the climbing community. Since joining The Hive in 2019 as a route setter, he has played a key role in shaping both the gym’s walls and its athletes. His dedication to coaching led him to work with the Hornets youth team before stepping into his current role as the Head of the Competitive Department. Now, as the Head Coach of The Hive High Performance team, The Swarm, Ricardo is committed to developing high-performance climbers and fostering a culture of excellence.
Head Route-Setters
Christopher Taylor
Head Route-Setter
Kieran Alton- Tracy
Head route-setter
Kieran started climbing in a dingy toprope gym with taped traverses over 15 years ago. Occasionally setting for a membership when they were a teenager in Alberta, They now set for a living here at the hive.
When they aren’t constructing elaborate jib stacks and patching the walls, they are usually found at their shed which hosts a training wall filled with as many tiny crimps as they could possibly fit.
Jack Lam
Head route-setter
More about Jack coming soon!
Careers
Join Our Team!
Interested in joining our team? We are growing, and would like to hear from you!
The Hive is all about community, climbing & fitness, education, and health & wellness. We are constantly striving to offer a 5 star experience to each and every guest and member!
Being part of The Hive team requires an excellent work ethic and a positive attitude towards teamwork, cooperation, and communication. Every member of The Hive’s team must demonstrate a commitment to going the extra mile in making The Hive the best climbing gym ever. With the support of great people, working together in exceptional facilities, The Hive aims to redefine what it means to be a World Class Climbing Gym.