Born in Lakeland, Florida, Whitten attended and both dove and swam for St. Petersburg High School under Head Coach Jerry Ruelf, graduating around June 1953.

[2] He competed in the men's 3 metre springboard event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, placing fourth, which put him out of medal contention.

[4][5] He attended Ohio State University enrolling around the Fall of 1953, where he swam and dove for International Hall of Fame Head Coach Mike Peppe and was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity.

[3][7] In the summer of 1956, after graduating Ohio State, he competed in AAU competition while training with the Cincinnati Coca-Cola team[8] After working in his dental practice for a number of years, including a stint in New York City in the 1960s, where he also coached 13-year diver Frank D'Amico at the New York Athletic Club, he focused his attention on inventions, and completed several patents, including one for Dzidra Glasses which were bulky glasses intended to reduce the frequency of migraines or tension headaches.

[11] One theory as to why the glasses successfully eliminated headaches is that the strobe light effect produced alpha waves which caused relaxation.