Malibu House and Impossible the Movement share a building on South Walnut Street. (Devan Ridgway/WTIU News)
Next door to the headquarters of Malibu House, there’s another for-profit addiction recovery operation in Bloomington called Impossible the Movement. A neon sign with the logo is in the window.
Malibu House is a group of at least five sober living homes that started about a year ago. A recent WFIU/WTIU News story about Malibu House questioned the business’s transparency about its for-profit status, co-owner Max Meckes’s name change, and his long record of arrests. Those arrests include a pending case alleging felony theft of more than $1,600 in liquor from a Walmart.
It’s hard to discern Impossible the Movement’s business model from its website and social media — and exactly how it makes money — amid numerous inspirational and fitness posts.
The owner, Joshua Sinn, didn’t respond to multiple interview requests. He got out of prison in 2024 after serving more than 10 years in a case involving the alleged strangulation of his girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to Criminal Confinement while Armed with a Deadly Weapon (a knife).
Sinn didn’t show up for a court hearing last month involving debt from an old car loan. He owes more than $6,600 plus interest, a 2016 court filing in the case says.
After getting out of prison, Sinn, 35, connected with Meckes. His Facebook page says he’s Business Development Director of Malibu House.
There is high demand for residential addiction recovery homes, which are usually non-profit. Marilyn Grimes, executive director of the Bloomington non-profit Courage to Change, said she has hundreds of applications for 41 beds.
Residents of sober living homes are sometimes ordered there by a court after drug-related offenses or they go voluntarily because they’ve relapsed. At the level of Malibu House, which does not provide medical care, there’s little state regulation.
So it raised questions when Sinn’s personal Facebook Marketplace page recently listed as sold or for sale thousands of dollars in used fitness equipment. Evan Pletch, general manager of Bloomington’s Hyatt Place hotel, said that during a renovation fitness equipment was donated to Malibu House.
There is nothing illegal about a for-profit business taking donations, but those donations are not tax-deductible, and ambiguity about the status of a business that looks to outsiders like a charity is problematic, experts said. Former residents of Malibu House question whether Sinn profited personally from donated equipment.
Meckes declined multiple in-person interview requests for this story and gave often cryptic answers to detailed questions via email before cutting off communication altogether. Meckes said the fitness equipment was not a “donation.”
Meckes has previously said he’s open about Malibu’s for-profit status “if anybody comes up and asks.”
Zoe Verteramo, marketing and communications manager for Habitat for Humanity Monroe County, said in a statement that Meckes sought discounts from ReStore, which sells donated merchandise to benefit Habitat.
"During communication with the ReStore manager, Max Meckes indicated that he was the owner of a nonprofit and inquired about receiving a nonprofit discount on ReStore's items," Verteramo said.
After WFIU/WTIU News’s story last month, Malibu House removed “Charity Organization” from its Facebook description.
Meckes said it was an “oversight” that “we believed … had been corrected previously, but it appears the change did not save. This has now been fixed.”
Camera in the bedroom?
Other allegations from former residents of Malibu House emerged after last month’s story.
Chris Maxie and two other former residents, Paul Brown and Montie White, said there was a camera in a bedroom, which Meckes denied.
- Maxie at the apartment where he lives in Bloomington now. He said Malibu House was his first time in sober living. (Devan Ridgway/WTIU News)
Maxie provided a photo and video that he said showed a camera in a room where he slept. He said it made him feel “violated.” Grimes from Courage to Change said she has cameras in common areas but cameras are never appropriate in bedrooms. That is the certification standard of The National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR).
Maxie also alleges he did uncompensated work for Meckes, including painting, at a Malibu House property before people moved in.
“He said he was going to pay me for it, just like he said he was going to pay me for the floor job I did,” Maxie said. “Never got paid for it.”
Meckes said no work from Malibu House residents outside of household chores has been uncompensated.
Former residents, including three people who did not want their name used for this story, described shabby living conditions, including six adult men and three bunk beds in a bedroom. They provided photos.
Brown, who stayed at two of Malibu’s homes, said he shared a small bedroom with five men and the nearby bathroom wasn’t working.
Residents share responsibility for chores, but conditions were beyond basic maintenance, Brown said. Issues included mold and broken appliances.
Brown said pictures on Malibu’s website don’t reflect the reality of living there.
“They're not maintaining, they're not putting money back in these houses,” he said. “They're not cleaning them up, and that's my thing. I just want to see these houses cleaned up.”
Brown said he wasn’t expecting pristine conditions but addicts need a decent environment for recovery. Otherwise, he said, “You're not setting that person up for success.”
Grimes from Courage to Change agreed that conditions of a home impact recovery. She said her homes usually have no more than two people to a bedroom. To be certified by NARR, bedrooms must have at least 50 square feet per person.
“When you’re coming out of addiction, you need respect,” Grimes said. “You have your own negative feelings about yourself. That’s part of coming out of addiction. You need to be built up and have people treat you with respect. … That’s why we want our houses to be really nice. I’d live in any of our houses.”
Meckes, however, denied there’s a problem, saying, “Malibu House maintains high standards for all residences. We ensure each home provides a safe, comfortable, and supportive environment.”
Supporting the ‘movement’
Sinn’s social media posts show him speaking to prisoners and presenting himself as a rehabilitated addict and criminal dedicated to helping others escape a dark past.
Impossible the Movement’s website says it provides “business development, sober living house management, and holistic wellness coaching.”
In a podcast video, posted on Facebook, Sinn said, “Impossible is an alchemy-type vibe.”
He also said, “Ultimately, it’s an umbrella for people to discover their purpose. For me, I give back to people who’ve experienced addiction and recidivism and just find different networks and contacts and resources where change is possible.”
A former resident, who wants to remain anonymous, said he knew Sinn to be a financial manager for Malibu House.
Sinn, the former resident said, “was a guy who would say motivating things and sell t-shirts out the back of the house.”
Last September, Sinn posted on social media pictures of numerous Impossible the Movement t-shirts in various colors.
“Support the movement get yours today!!” the post said.
Sinn has appeared on at least three podcasts since his 2024 release, all of which WTIU/WFIU News reviewed. One of them included Women in Leadership-Morgan County promoting a fundraiser for Impossible the Movement because “we knew it would be able to help a lot of people.”
“So anyone who wants to make a monetary donation, they’re welcome now,” a woman said on the podcast.
In March, on the podcast “Confused But Alive,” Sinn said people could support Impossible’s cause by buying a hoodie or t-shirt. He said to overcome your past, “The very thing you’ve been running from your whole life is the very thing that actually, not only sets you free, but actually allows you to experience life at the highest ability.”
Jack Wilber, an Indiana University student, confirmed he is Chief Financial Officer of Impossible the Movement. Wilber runs a non-profit called BinaryHeart that fixes computers and donates them to bridge the digital divide.
Sinn has said he contacted Wilber after seeing a newspaper story about BinaryHeart.
Wilber said in a statement to WFIU/WTIU News, “I won’t be making any additional comments beyond this. I do serve as CFO of Impossible The Movement LLC, which is a for-profit company. Impossible has not solicited or received tax-deductible charitable donations.”
‘I will not try to contact you’
On podcasts, Sinn said he turned to crime after his parents and a brother died within six months when he was 17. Obituaries online support that timing.
What Sinn doesn’t talk about in social media and podcasts reviewed by WFIU/WTIU News is the 2013 incident that landed him in jail.
Sinn pleaded guilty to criminal confinement of his girlfriend as a habitual offender, with the state dropping charges of strangulation, intimidation, criminal deviate conduct, domestic battery, and resisting law enforcement.
Sinn’s girlfriend told police that when she got home from work, they argued about a previous relationship of hers. She said Sinn punched her multiple times, then took a knife from the kitchen and threatened her life, and also threatened to stab her dog Mia and started counting down.
She told police he made her take off her clothes and recorded a video of her that he said he was going to post online publicly.
In 2020, while in prison, Sinn petitioned the court for a reduced sentence “so I can work, continue my education, and attend classes to continue to better myself.” The state argued against the request and the judge denied it.
Court documents include a letter Sinn wrote to the ex-girlfriend in 2022. He apologized and added, “I can assure you as my outdate (from prison) nears, I will not try to contact you. I hold no anger towards you for calling the cops, it saved my life. I wanted to at least attempt to make amends and give you closure.”
Meckes said Sinn does not go to the women’s home in the Malibu House group.
“I’m not perfect,” Sinn said on a podcast. “But, remember, if you never give up, you can’t lose. I’m going to make the adjustments as necessary. I’m going to be open and honest with people around me.”
Bente Bouthier reported this story. You can contact her at bentbout@iu.edu or 812-727-4016.
