At 3.32 a.m. on April 6, 2009, Perez's home and studio were destroyed in the earthquake in L'Aquila. In his TED Talk at TEDxVicenza, Perez reveals that both him and his wife barely made it outside their house before it collapsed. He said, "In less than 22 seconds we lost our home, our studio and our little bed and breakfast. My wife and I were literally on the street with just our pyjamas on. We weren't event wearing shoes and it was only 30°F (4°C)."