Nonpoint was formed in January 1997 emerging from the popular burgeoning South Florida metal scene of the mid-to-late 1990s by drummer Robb Rivera and vocalist Elias Soriano. The name Nonpoint came from a Believer song named "Nonpoint." Soriano recalls: "I dug the name so I started using it around that time. It has no real meaning to us. It has something to do with pollution, but to us it just sounded cool." The band self-released their first album, "Separate Yourself" in late 1997. The band's first commercially released album "Struggle" was released on May 18, 1999 on the now-defunct Jugular Records.