EXHIBIT 99.3


                           ROCKY SHOES & BOOTS, INC.

                           CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                            18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
                             AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                 SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

        In connection with the Annual Report of Rocky Shoes & Boots, Inc. (the
"Company") on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2002, as filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report"), I, Mike
Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

        (1)     The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a)
or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

        (2)     The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all
material respects, the financial condition and result of operations of the
Company.


                                  /s/ Mike Brooks
                                  ---------------------------------------------
                                  Mike Brooks, President and Chief Executive
                                  Officer
                                  March 26, 2003


A SIGNED ORIGINAL OF THIS WRITTEN STATEMENT REQUIRED BY SECTION 906 HAS BEEN
PROVIDED TO ROCKY SHOES & BOOTS, INC. AND WILL BE RETAINED BY ROCKY SHOES &
BOOTS, INC. AND FURNISHED TO THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR ITS STAFF
UPON REQUEST.