Damon Brink Damon Brink believed he had found a path to spiritual fulfillment, self-awareness and financial success. Days into his initial training with a mysterious group outside of Albany, N.Y., he had become captivated by its teachings. I didn t really want to leave, Brink recalled. At the end of the day, I was exhausted but happy happy in a way I hadn t been in years or maybe decades. That happiness would not last. Twelve years later, the Morrisville resident has found himself trapped in the undertow of the group, known as NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ee-um) and widely described as a cult.